Dancing With Shadows
by timbryanscott
Summary: As darkness falls over the land of Hyrule, a hero must rise to defend everything he holds dear. With an unlikely companion and against insurmountable odds, light and shadow must join together to defeat the evil that now lies in wait. A novelization of Twilight Princess. Not strictly canon.
1. Chapter 1: Ordon

**Dancing With Shadows**

**Author's Note:**

_For years, I've had something in mind about The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and felt that it could use more depth to it. Initially, I wanted to start at or near the game's end to continue it, but felt that more could be added to the characters and their development, which then persuaded me into "starting from the beginning." I do not own Legend of Zelda or it's affiliated characters, nor do I own Nintendo's artwork. As I am now juggling two stories, please check my profile for updates on both. So, without further ado, here is my retelling of TLoZ: Twilight Princess!_

_This chapter was modified 10/3/12_

* * *

Chapter 1: Ordon

The sun shone brightly over the field as Link herded the goats into the barn, Fado standing ready to shut them in. Link elicited a whinny from the horse as he plunged Epona through the herd, rewarding him with the bleats of surprised goats dashing towards the barn.

"That's eighteen…nineteen…and…twenty! That's the lot of 'em!" Fado exclaimed, closing the barn doors as the final goat hurried inside. The farmer motioned to Link to come closer, the rider directing Epona over.

"Thanks for ya help today!" the man called out, "I've got it covered 'til you get back. You go ahead an' take it easy!"

"Thanks Fado! And try not to let _all_ of the goats get away from you while I'm gone!" Link shouted back, getting a chuckle from his friend as he rode past him, getting Epona to jump the gates like he always did.

Today Link would be delivering the gift that the Mayor had commissioned for the Royal Family, and then he would finally get to see the province of Hyrule. Rusl, his adoptive father, had given him a great opportunity to go in his stead, allowing him to explore outside of their little village of Ordon. He smiled as he felt the weight of the wooden sword and collapsed fishing rod on his back, and of the slingshot at his side. Rusl's youngest son Colin had made him the fishing rod just yesterday, and Rusl had given him the sword as a gift to help practice with. While it would likely do poorly against any serious combatant, the wooden sword served its purpose when he set off into the woods to save Talo, another boy from the village.

Link's expression darkened at the memory. After showing some of the children some fighting skills with his slingshot (which he saved up fifty rupees to get) and wooden sword, one of the monkeys from the woods had appeared, startling the children. A moment later Talo was running after it with a stick, and was soon in very real danger, along with the monkey in question. Several bulbins had taken the two to the base of the Forest Temple. The imp-like fiends had them caged, and would likely have been readying a fire had he not arrived to save them. He was sorry that Talo had to see him killing anything, but he shuddered at the thought of not reaching Talo in time. _Things could have gotten _a lot_ worse_.

"Father! Link's back!" A familiar voice broke him away from his thoughts. Ilia, the mayor's daughter and close childhood friend of his, was running up to him as he had Epona slow her trot.

"Excited for the trip?" she asked, walking next to him as he continued Epona's pace.

"A chance to go out and see the world while Fado takes care of the goats for a week? Can't say I am," he said, grinning. Ilia rolled her eyes. Link dismounted Epona, walking over towards Mayor Bo. A gentle giant to the villagers, Ilia's father stood at nearly six and a half feet tall, with a girth to match. One could only feel sorry for any goats that he'd tackled in his younger years.

"Link, my boy!" the mayor exclaimed, lumbering over to him in earnest. "I see you're ready to travel?"

"One can hope, Mayor."

"Aye, that we can." Bo ushered Link to the side, his arm about Link's shoulder.

"Now, this gift of ours is representing our little village and province in Hyrule, see? It would be in our best interests if this gift got to the Royal Family in a timely manner…you get me lad?" he intoned, a sense of urgency in his voice. While simply a gift of good will, everyone in the village knew that if the Royal Family was pleased with their gift, there was a great chance that they might publicize the occasion and bring more attention to their province of Ordona, earning them more than a few rupees along the way.

Link's playful expression turned serious. "You can count on me, sir. I'll get it done."

"Good man!" he laughed, clapping Link on the back, "Now, I'll just grab the sword and shield and-"

"What's this?" Ilia asked suddenly. The suspicion and accusation in her voice caused the two men to turn, finding her gesturing to Epona's knee. "Epona's hurt, Link! You've been jumping fences with her again, haven't you?"

He was surprised at her sudden change but wasn't sure of how to respond. He didn't actually _see_ anything wrong, but he knew better than to say that. "I, uh…well…" he managed, as Bo came to his rescue.

"Now, now, Ilia. Let's not be too hasty-"

"FATHER!" she cried, "Why do you always defend him like this? He shouldn't be able to do whatever he wants without having to deal with the consequences!"

The two men both suddenly found the ground very interesting and made no effort to look in her direction, having no response. Ilia huffed, and with a tug of the reins, began walking Epona away.

The mayor started in surprise. "Ilia! Where are you taking Epona?"

"Ordon spring," she called without turning. "At least there she can get the treatment she deserves!"

Bo looked as if he would speak again, but instead simply shook his head with a defeated sigh.

"Daughters. They're a bundle of joy until they want to get their way." He looked over to Link, anxiety creeping into his voice.

"Now, I'm not sure how you're going to handle this, but we _need_ Epona. Without a horse, there's no way we can make the delivery on time. Think you can calm her down?"

Link nodded seriously, but a smile shone in his eyes. "I'll think of something."

* * *

Link continued his walk up the road to the spring, passing by Rusl and Uli as he went. Uli was tending to her cradle that she had crafted for her next child, which seemed to be coming along more and more by the day. Rusl was practicing his sword techniques by the creek, grunting with effort as he performed several strikes in tandem.

Taking notice of him, Uli gave him a wave, and Rusl smiled warmly in Link's direction. "Son! It's good to see you finished with your work early. Going to see Ilia off before you go, I take it?"

He shrugged. "You're half right on that, Rusl. Ilia's in a bit of a mood right now, though, so I'm going to try to get Epona back from her."

He walked back down the path over to Rusl, voice slightly quieter so that Uli wouldn't overhear. "We haven't really had a chance to talk about what happened yesterday."

Rusl's grin fell, but he kept up his demeanor. "I'm glad things worked out, Link. Pergie was beside herself when I told her about Talo, but hopefully they weren't too hard on the kids. Boys will be boys." Link smiled back at him, knowing full well he was also implying the mischief Link had gotten into in the past.

"I think that the kids would like to say goodbye before you leave as well, Link," Rusl continued, "I think I saw them heading up towards the spring, probably playing some game or setting up more dummies to practice on. And as much as I hate to admit it," he paused, "with the woods as they are now, having them learn a little swordplay couldn't hurt."

A tired look crossed his features, but he shook it off and gave Link another smile, one that seemed a bit forced. "Well, you shouldn't keep them waiting now. There'll be time enough for you to see the rest of the village off before you leave."

"Thanks, Rusl. I'll be back soon enough." Clapping Rusl on the shoulder, Link turned to continue back up the path, his tree house now in view at the top. Rusl and a few others from the village had helped put it together for him. They had found him as a baby one night left abandoned at the base of it. With his pointed ears, the village had realized he was of hylian descent, though they did not recognize the strange triangle markings on his right hand. Wary, but compassionate, the villagers decided to take him in.

Growing up, he played well with the other children, but didn't seem comfortable sleeping in the village, and he always seemed to return to the tree whenever he was left alone. Despite this, Rusl and Uli raised him as they would their own son. When Colin was born, they decided to build him a place he could call his own, in the very tree he went to. He never knew his parents, but Rusl and Uli were the kindest ones he could have asked for, and Link was thankful for the space they gave him.

The boys were in view at the top of the path, apparently blocking the path to the spring in a game of "fort," wielding sticks and holding up bark as shields. Talo and Malo, Pergie's boys, were preventing Colin from getting by, and while it seemed playful, their comments had a bullying undertone to them.

"Come on, guys, let me through. Please?" Colin asked, the young blonde clearly not having fun.

"Why would we let you through?" Talo huffed, the darker haired boy shaking a stick at him, "You're the one who tattled on us yesterday. We got scolded something awful last night."

"Yes, thanks for that," Malo chimed in, the four year-old barely larger than the stick he was holding.

"Go back to play with Ilia's dolls, Colin. We don't need a… oh, hey Link!" Talo started, dropping the gear he was holding.

"Doesn't seem like you're playing nice, boys. Mind telling me what's going on?" he asked, looking Talo and Malo in the eyes. Malo just stared back at him with vague interest, the young genius not feeling he was to blame. In contrast, Talo refused to look at him, shuffling his feet on the ground.

"Colin told Rusl last night about me going into the woods chasing the monkey. We got in trouble because of that."

"And hungry monsters caught you," Malo prodded, earning a look from his older sibling.

Link sighed. "I know that you guys got in trouble, but things could have been a lot worse if you'd gotten hurt, Talo. Colin was only trying to help."

Talo still wouldn't meet his eyes, but reluctantly relaxed his stance and looked up to Colin. "All right, all right. I'm sorry if I've been mean, Colin." Awaiting Colin's reply, he looked back up to Link and saw his wooden sword still on his back.

"Oh, hey Link! That sword that you have, can I practice with it? You know, just in case any more monkeys or monsters show up?"

Glad that the situation was resolved for now, Link released the straps that held the sword in place, handing it over to the boy.

"Sure," he said, as Talo eagerly accepted his gift, "Just don't go swinging it around anyone from the village, all right? Don't want to hurt the people you're protecting."

"All right! Thanks, Link!" Talo exclaimed, looking at the sword as if it were made of gold. "If any more monsters show up…with this thing, I'll show 'em!"

"Of course." Malo said under his breath, "Just like how you showed them yesterday when you _didn't_ get captured." Talo scoffed at him, but ran over to the scarecrow they had set up for Link to practice on, Malo followed suit to watch.

The path now clear to the spring, Colin, having been quiet until then, spoke up. "Thanks for helping me with them," he said, timidly holding his hands behind his back. "They've always picked on me for being shy. Dad keeps saying I should be stronger, but I don't want to fight with swords or carry stuff."

He gave his older brother a smile. "That's what's so great about you, Link. You don't need to fight to have people look up to you, you just take care of the animals and Epona. When I grow up, I want to be just like you!"

"Ha, thanks Colin." Link said warmly, ruffling his younger brother's hair as he walked along with him. "I'm going to see Ilia and Epona at the spring. Want to come?"

"Sure!" the youth said excitedly, running ahead a little. Chuckling to himself, Link followed after him, stealing one last look behind him towards the village. Talo was chopping away at the dummy, slicing at its sides while Malo stood by and watched. A sudden pang of sadness washed over him, the realization that he would be leaving the village for the first time. But he pushed it down and smiled at the thought of Rusl joking with him the day prior. "_And who knows?" Rusl chuckled. "Maybe you'll even get to see Princess Zelda herself!"_ _Rusl laughed at his own joke,_ _and Link along with him as they walked back to the village._

_Well_, _can't make good on that if I haven't left. _Following after Colin, he ventured towards the spring.

* * *

Ordon Spring was supposedly a sacred place, protected by a guardian spirit. There were several such springs throughout the kingdom. All were renowned for their miraculous healing waters, and it was widely believed that the Goddesses themselves had blessed them. The villagers didn't have any particular place of worship but often came to the spring for guidance as it granted them a sense of peace.

What was occurring now, however, was decidedly less than peaceful.

"I already told you, you can't have Epona!" Ilia shouted, the gates to the spring firmly locked in place.

Link was exasperated by this point. "Look, Ilia, I'm sorry if I hurt Epona when jumping, I didn't know—

"Of course you didn't! You never think about the consequences of your actions, Link! You just do what you want; it doesn't matter if someone gets hurt in the process!"

Her words stung, but he knew if he lashed out, he would only make it worse. Struggling with himself, he stormed away from the gate, leaving Ilia behind. "And don't come back until you've changed your attitude!" she yelled after him.

Link sighed, but stopped shortly after his exit from the spring's entrance. Colin had been waiting nearby during the argument, and while he still looked a little timid, he looked at Link with some sympathy.

Link just shook his head. "Well, apologizing didn't work. Any ideas?"

The ten year old looked thoughtful for a moment. "I know Ilia can be a little protective of Epona." he said quietly, "But I think I can help. She doesn't know everything that happened yesterday, so since she wouldn't let you tell her, I will."

His sibling gestured over to a small tunnel in the rock behind where he was standing. "Talo and Malo would play hide and seek with me, and we'd go hide in here sometimes. It goes all the way to the spring. You can crawl through there while I talk with Ilia!" he explained happily, knowing that he just devised a plan even Malo would be proud of.

Link grinned again. "Not bad, Colin. We'll work together on this then. After you." he gestured towards the gate to the spring, where Colin flashed him a smile of his own as he walked over to it. Link got down on his hands and knees as he approached the crawlspace, entering it just as he heard Colin greet Ilia.

"Hi Ilia, I'm back by myself this time! Can I come in?"

"Oh, hello again, Colin. Here, let me get…" the conversation trailed off as he moved along through the cramped space, glad that he wasn't claustrophobic. He had to hand it to Colin on this one, it _was_ a smart plan. _All it took was some confidence_, he thought as he continued, now able to see the light reflecting from the spring off of the walls.

A moment later, he emerged from the passageway, catching the last bits of conversation from a far more quiet and subdued Ilia as she and Colin stood in the shallow pool, the bright reflected light dancing along the walls.

"…I had no idea about the details of Talo's capture. I'm so glad that he's okay… but Link! Where did he go? I need to—"

"Apologize?" he finished for her, stepping out into the shallow waters of the spring towards them. Ilia sprung into the air with a yelp and turned to him, surprise painted on her features. She moved towards Epona's rein, but the chestnut horse shook her head at her with a snort, evading her grasp. Ilia looked down and laughed softly.

"So, you still prefer your master over me, huh, Epona?" She was humble enough to give him an apologetic smile. "Link, about what I said…"

"I understand, Ilia. Although it would be nice for you to give me a chance to explain myself next time." he said with a grin.

She sighed with relief at his forgiveness. "You don't have to worry about your horse, Link. Fortunately, it looks like her injury isn't too serious. You two can go on together. But, Link…"

She turned to him then, her emerald green eyes gazing at in his blue, a desperate look on her face. "Whatever happens on your journey, just… promise me that you won't do anything out of your league, okay?" she stepped forward and embraced him suddenly, holding him for all her worth. "Just… just come home safely." Initially taken aback by her hug, Link brought his arms up around her as well, holding her close.

"I promise." he said, just savoring the moment between them. The only sound to interrupt them was the gentle trickling of the spring, the water's steady flow relaxing them as they held each other.

"Um, guys? Do you hear something? Anything?" Colin asked suddenly, sounding worried.

Link's eyes shot open. _We're in a forest_, he thought, nerves suddenly coming into play. _Where's the bird calls, or the crickets? We should be hearing _a lot_ more than just the spring_. Straining to listen, he made out the steady beat of hooves along the dirt path.

"Colin, Ilia, I think we should—"

The gate to the spring shook and exploded forward, revealing four bulbin riding giant boars, armed with bows and clubs. Startled, Epona let out a whinny and took off, leaving Link, Colin, and Ilia dashing to escape. _How are we going to get out of this?_ he thought hurriedly, _I left my sword with Talo, I can't—_

A strangled cry stopped him in his tracks. Turning, he saw Ilia hit the ground with an arrow protruding from her shoulder.

"Ilia, no!" he shouted, before he felt the world go black as something heavy hit him from behind.

* * *

He woke up in water, feeling like he just got rammed by an Ordon goat. He didn't know where he was, but his head hurt like the fire of Din herself. _What happened—_

Adrenaline surged through him as he remembered. _The monsters! They'd taken Colin and Ilia!_ He bolted upright and looked around quickly, searching for where they went. The gate was smashed, but he didn't see any tracks towards the village_. They must have left for Faron Woods_ he thought frantically, and sprinted off towards the bridge.

He didn't take note of the subtle change in daylight as he raced across the bridge, nor did he think to look up towards the now blackening sky. He only became aware of something out of the ordinary when he skidded to a halt at the edge of the woods, as he was faced with a tall black curtain blocking the road, inlaid with symbols and seeming to absorb the light around it. "What in Farore's name—"

The rest of his sentence was cut off as a black, alien hand reached through the darkness, pulling him through the curtain with it.

Link's eyes bulged as a monster of nightmarish origins held him to its "face," a sort of shield symbol that masked its features as black tendrils sprang from the back of its head. Struggling to free himself, he tried to kick out at the monster and connect with its arm, only for it to tighten its hold around his neck. _Goddesses above, where am I? What is this?_

Unbeknownst to him, the markings on his right hand began to glow brightly, gaining the curiosity of the beast. The monster moved to touch it with its other arm… when suddenly the markings gave off a blinding light, causing the beast to throw him away, roaring in agony.

Falling in a heap, he struggled to gain some awareness of his surroundings, but all he could see were the black clouds above and the orange lit woods in every direction. He felt his stomach turning and looked down at his hand again. The light hadn't gone out; if anything, it was growing stronger. It outlined three golden triangles, the bottom right shining almost like a second sun. He felt the urge to retch as his muscles convulsed, the ill feeling getting stronger. _What's happening to me?_ he thought frantically and suddenly let out a scream of pain and fear as he felt his bones and muscles move, the scream transforming into an animalistic howl. Ending as soon as they began, the sensations stopped, leaving him feeling utterly drained. Once more, Link felt the world slipping away as darkness clouded his vision.


	2. Chapter 2: Darkness

**Author's Note:**

_I wasn't entirely sure where to end this chapter, as a lot of things unfold in such a short time. I'm happy with it, although I'm playing on the safe side (for now) in terms of what might be too strong in a T-rated story. Thanks to laure for helping me in updating the first chapter!_

_This chapter was last modified 11/22/12, attempting to add a little more description here and there._

* * *

Chapter 2: Darkness

Link awoke on a cold stone floor, his head aching from where he had been clubbed by the monsters. He rose stiffly with an inward groan, trying to stretch his legs. A tug on his right wrist caused him to look down. What greeted his sight, however, was not his body. _I must be dreaming_, he thought. _This has to be a dream_.

Thick white and black fur coated what used to be his arms and hands, now unmistakably the legs of a wolf. Disbelieving, he thought to move his left hand… and the wolf paw moved as well. He turned his head to look at the rest of his body and found it elongated and canine. To both his fascination and horror, a tail swished behind him, its motions reverberating along his spine. He shut his eyes tightly, willing the images to go away. _This isn't real_. _I'm just dreaming, and when I open my eyes I'll wake up again, safe and sound._

To his dismay, his wolfish shape still greeted him when he opened his eyes again. Panting (_panting?_ he thought) in agitation, he tried to move, the tug on his "paw" holding him back again. He was chained to the floor. Link looked around in confusion, trying to get a sense of where he was. _I'm in a prison cell_, he realized, which only added to the fear that he now felt. He tried to retrace his steps up until now, remembering Ilia and Colin and the bulbins. _How am I supposed to save them from here? Are they safe? Are they even alive? _He prayed that they were okay. He had only just saved Talo from the fiends in the forest, and that was when he had ran after him. If he was too late…

Pushing the thought away, he went back to his task. After he had been knocked out, he had run towards Faron Woods to follow them, had seen the glowing curtain, and had been pulled in by… the black monster! It must have taken him here!

_That thing could still be around_, he thought worriedly. _Wherever it is, I am _not_ just going to wait for it to come back_. Focusing his attention on the chain and shackle, he tried to pull himself free, without result. Giving in to instinct, he brought his mouth to the chain, trying to chew through it for all his worth, shaking it with his head. _No use_, he thought. _How am I_—

His ears pricked up as he heard something nearby. Turning quickly, he found himself facing an imp-like creature, waiting for him outside the cell bars. The female imp simply stared at him out of what looked like a stone crown with one crimson and amber eye, her flaming orange hair standing in sharp contrast to the blue-green tattoos that glowed along her body. Grinning suddenly, the black and white imp jumped over the bars through the hole at the top, landing just in front of him!

"I found you!" she exclaimed, a single fang visible from her mouth as she grinned at him.

On guard, Link dropped into a defensive stance, a deep growl coming unbidden from his throat.

"Oooh, aren't you scary!" she giggled, crossing its arms in front of its chest. "Are you sure you want to be doing that? Snarling and growling at me?"

Link continued to do _exactly_ that, earning another giggle from the imp.

"Well, that's too bad… I was planning on helping you… if you were nice."

Link's ears pricked up again, ceasing his growling with surprise. Cautiously, he stood to his full height, deciding to listen to what the imp had to say.

She grinned again. "Now, that's better! You humans are obedient to a fault, aren't you? She walked forward, patting him roughly on his head. "Oh wait, that's right. You _aren't_ a human anymore, are you? You're a beast!" she giggled again, to Link's irritation.

_The sarcasm isn't helping,_ he thought, and snapped at her. She easily evaded his bite, bouncing back on her feet. "Now, now. You be a good boy and calm down. No need to bite!" she laughed, wagging a finger at him. She drew her hands in then suddenly, a look of concentration crossing her face. _What is she doing?_

A sparking ball of dark energy appeared in her hands. With a sweeping motion, she sent the magic lashing outwards… coming straight for him! Startled, Link let out a yelp as he tried to jump to the side, only to realize that she'd severed the chain to his shackle.

His reaction did not go unnoticed. "You look kind of surprised!" She giggled again. "I told you I'd help." She leaped back again, _floating_ into the air, grinning as she watched Link's eyes grow wider. "So, I bet you're wondering where we are," she said as her body began to shift form, rippling and appearing almost fluid like as she passed through the cell's bars and reformed on the other side.

"Tell you what. You make it out of there, and I might tell you!" she giggled again, pausing to stretch her arms behind her head as she yawned lazily.

_Right,_ he thought, and set about exploring his cell. The stone walls were sturdy, and it looked like the cell's bars were strong enough to hold Bo back from a village feast. A broken crate lay to the side of the cell, butting up against the wall. Link moved it aside with his head, exposing a soft patch of dirt underneath, the iron bars stopping short. He began to dig his way through, squirming to get his body to the other side.

Shaking the dirt off of himself, he looked around for his mysterious rescuer. The imp was nowhere to be seen, but her laughter was echoing off the walls. A sudden weight struck his back, knocking him down. The imp was riding on top of him!

He struggled to get at the creature, jumping and spinning to try to buck her off. To his annoyance, she held on, confidently crossing her arms as he moved about in vain.

"Well, you're not completely stupid after all!" He eventually stopped struggling as she patted his back, resigned to having her sitting on him. "Listen, I like you, so I think I'll help you get out of here." She suddenly grabbed his left ear with an uncomfortable jerk. "But… in exchange for my help, you have to be my servant, and do exactly as I say!"

He growled at the thought, but Link wasn't really in any position to argue. From the looks of things, she was his only way out.

"So, do we understand each other?" she asked pointedly. He nodded to her with a wolfish glare and another grin appeared on her face. "Good wolf. Now, come on! Get moving!" she commanded, and, kicking her heels into his sides as if he were a horse, the imp steered him through the rest of the prison.

* * *

He traveled through the corridors and passages and moved through a sewer system that ran below where he was imprisoned. The very walls seemed oppressive as the environment bore down on him. He was shocked at what appeared to be ghostly spirits moving about, but the imp simply smiled a knowing grin, commanding him to focus his senses on his surroundings. He found that his hearing was much sharper, as well as his sense of smell. After a moment's concentration, he could even perceive shapes to the spirits, learning that they were actually soldiers, scared and in hiding. Their shortness of breath and whispered words were unsettling to him, but not nearly so as did finding the tunnels full of rats. At least, the creatures might _once_ have been rats.

Their now black spiderlike bodies scurried about the floor, with tendrils similar to that of the beast that had grabbed him in the forest. While aggressive, they were not very hardy and were dispatched with a few swift bites. A part of him was disgusted that he was putting them anywhere near his mouth, seeing as they'd been in a sewer and were transformed into these… things. However, Link knew that he wouldn't be able to ignore them otherwise and so set about doing what needed to be done. Surprisingly, their bodies didn't remain when they perished, instead _dissolving_ into black specks similar to the magic he'd seen the imp use.

He was figuring out how to ask where they were when the two suddenly came upon a large, broken spiral staircase leading up through a tower, a flooded pool of sewer water at the bottom.

"There, we're getting closer now, aren't we?" the imp cackled; what they were moving towards or where they were still escaped Link.

"Where are we?" he tried to ask, dismayed that only a few yips and barks came out of his mouth.

The imp giggled at his display. "Aww, is the little wolfie trying to tell me something?" she asked, probably guessing as to what he wanted. "Don't worry, all will be explained soon enough… there's someone I'd like you to meet, but first we have to climb this tower. Now, get moving!" she dug into his sides again, trying to spur him on. He gave a small growl, put off by her statement. _Who could they be meeting in _here_?_

Still confused, Link traversed the first flight of stairs, attempting to jump across the chasm of the broken stairwell to the other side. The opposite staircase proved unstable, however, and crumbled beneath him. He fell back down into the sewer water below with a splash.

"Ugh, gross! What are you doing?" the imp asked angrily, now soaked in the sewer water as well as she cuffed his ears. _Trying to get up,_ he thought as he scowled, but swam over to the stairs that led out of the pool, walking back up the steps until he was back to the point where he had jumped originally. The gap was larger now, and he hesitated before trying again.

With a sigh of exasperation, the imp once again spoke up. "I just have to do everything for you, don't I?" she huffed, and floated off of his back to the other side. "I'll bring you over here, but you're still going to have to jump for it. You have to do _some_ of the work."

With a running start, Link attempted the jump again, this time with a feeling of being lifted across the chasm. The imp simply looked at him with her sarcastic smirk, ever amused by his confusion.

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" she asked as she reappeared on his back. To Link's surprise, it really _hadn't_ been difficult, but he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of his agreement.

It wasn't long before they were confronted with another collapsed flight of stairs, in which Midna once again ventured out and used her power to assist him. The two continued to traverse the tower's stairs, flight after broken flight, until they reached the top. A door hung open as it was blown by the wind outside. Curious, Link walked through it, greeted by the sight of an expansive castle's walls and fortifications as he stepped outside. Rain fell steadily as several monstrous "birds" circled overhead, their bodies as black as the creatures in the sewers, filling the air with the beating of leathery wings.

"Well, we finally made it out," The imp said, stretching as she did so. "And just look at that sky! Don't those black clouds of twilight look inviting?"

_The orange and black sky is here, too_, he thought. _Although I still don't know where-_

"So, do you know where we are yet?" the imp asked again, sweeping her arms wide as if seeing the castle should mean something to him. He hesitated, startled that she asked the same question he was thinking.

"You _still_ don't know? There aren't very many castles in this land of yours. Maybe I was wrong about you back there; you really might be stupid after all!"

He growled at her, but she simply gave him another kick to the sides. "Come on! You don't want to keep them waiting, do you?"

Looking for answers, he followed the imp's orders and ran atop the ramparts and rooftops of the castle. It was odd, trying to keep his footing on the ornate tiles and shingles, but as long as he didn't move at an angle he wasn't in any danger of slipping, even with all of the rain beating down on him. Some of the castle looked as if it had been damaged in an attack, other structures were clearly in the process of being refurbished or rebuilt. What was clear, however, was that the castle had seen better days and was being tended to until recently.

The duo finally reached a lone, ornate looking tower. With Midna's help once again, he was able to jump up to one of the windows. Creeping in, Link dropped down onto yet _another_ winding staircase, although this one appeared to be in far better condition than the one with the sewers. He shook himself involuntarily, drenching the red carpet beneath him. _Classy._

With a little encouragement from his rider, Link made his way up the staircase until he came upon a double door at the top. The left side was slightly ajar. Pushing against it, he peered inside, tensing as he did so.

A lone cloaked figure stood looking out a window, setting him on edge. He guessed that this was the person the imp wanted him to meet, but he didn't know what to think of them. It didn't help that lightning was flashing outside, and that orange light flooded the room. _Here we go_, he thought and began to emit a low growl of defiance.

His actions made his presence known, causing the person to turn towards him. A shadowed, but distinctly human face greeted him; the only other being he'd seen that wasn't one of these beasts, or a spirit like the soldiers. Surprised, he stopped growling immediately, and tentatively stepped closer to her.

She seemed to recognize the imp. "Midna?!" she exclaimed, her voice soft but holding a sense of authority.

"So, you remembered my name! I'm honored!" the imp, 'Midna,' said sarcastically.

The woman ignored her, choosing instead to look at Link. "Is this the one for whom you were searching?"

"Well, he's not exactly what I had in mind, but… I guess he'll do."

The woman knelt to his eye level, staring intently at him. "You were imprisoned?" she asked, looking towards the shackle still about his ankle. "I am sorry."

"The poor little wolf has no idea where he is or what's happened. So, don't you think you should explain to him what you've managed to do? I think you owe him that much… Twilight Princess!" Midna giggled again, mocking both of their situations.

Link started. _A princess? _he thought. _The only princess I know of is..._

The woman looked down remorsefully for a moment, her features entirely hidden by shadow of her hood. When her eyes rose again to meet his, the woman spoke more determinedly.

"Listen carefully," she began. "This was once the land where the power of the Goddesses was said to slumber. This was once the kingdom of Hyrule. But that once blessed kingdom has been transformed by the king who rules the twilight… it has been turned into a world of shadows, ruled by creatures who shun the light."

She paused before continuing, taking a slow, steady breath. "The invading King of Twilight swept through the kingdom of Hyrule in a surprise attack, crushing our every defense. When he reached the castle, he offered me a choice; to submit to him, allowing Hyrule's citizens to live, or to fight, and his army would sweep through the land, leaving no survivors. The battle was already lost, so I could do no action but surrender for the safety of Hyrule's people."

"Twilight covered Hyrule like a shroud, and without the light of this world, the people became as spirits. They yet live on, unaware that they have passed into spirit forms. All they know is fear, now. Fear of a nameless evil, one they can see but cannot harm."

The woman stood again to her full height, a tone of melancholy pride appearing in her voice. "The kingdom has succumbed to twilight, but I remain its princess." She purposefully removed her hood, revealing her face; serene, beautiful, and far too sad. "I am Zelda."

Link wondered if she could see the surprise in his features as he attempted to kneel before her. Being a wolf, his body did not allow for the same movement, so he settled for laying down, tucking one leg under him as he pointed his head down as a sign of respect. _This is unbelievable,_ he thought. _Am I _sure_ I'm not dreaming?_

"Aww, you don't have to look so sad!" Midna said, possibly in an effort to cheer her up. "We actually find it to be quite livable! Is perpetual twilight really all that bad?"

Princess Zelda gave her a pensive stare. "Midna, this is no time for levity. The shadow beasts have been searching all of Hyrule for you. Why is this?"

The imp floated off of Link's back, hovering in the air with her back to Zelda. "Why indeed? You tell me!" she laughed, somewhat nervously. Zelda looked to her expectantly for a moment, but Midna said nothing more.

With a frown, the princess shifted her gaze back to Link. "Time has grown short. The guards will soon make their rounds. You must leave quickly."

She gestured towards the door, not saying another word, only gazing out the window again. Exiting the room, Link strode back down the staircase, aiming to get near the bottom, when Midna suddenly pulled on his ears in an effort to heel him. He was about to growl at her again when he saw the look in her eye for him to be silent. The door at the bottom of the stairs suddenly cracked open.

"Wow, those guards are prompt!" she whispered, looking around for a way out. "Back up through the window, wolfie. Let's go!" Floating upwards, Midna assisted Link's jump from the bottom of the stairs, then proceeded to float outside into the rain and orange glow of the endless dusk.

Once safely back on the rooftop, Link looked over to the imp. _So, what happens now?_

The imp turned to him, giving another giggle. "Well? Do you understand where we are now?"

He gave a grudging nod, making her grin. "I guess a promise is a promise, so I'll get you back to where you first entered the twilight. But…" her voiced dropped suddenly, a mischievous glint in her visible eye, "…are you really sure you should be going back? That you aren't forgetting anything important?" she asked, a mocking undertone to her question.

He frowned, and began to think of a list of things. _He had to get back to Ordon, he needed to get out of this… shape, and he had to—_

The imp before transformed into Colin, then Ilia, appearing shocked and afraid. _How can she do that? How did she know? _he thought, both stunned at her ability to change form and her knowledge of his friends' capture.

Ilia laughed with Midna's voice, which he found to be _very_ unsettling, to say the least. "Do you want to save them?" she cackled, moving her hand through her hair. "I'd be happy to help, but you'd have to continue to be my servant. Anything I want you to do, you do it on my command. Do we have a deal?"

He gave her a glare; his hands were tied on this. _I want to rescue them, but we're at the castle right now_. _How far away was the castle from Ordon?_ _And if I refuse, how am I even going to get down?_ He had no idea where to go from here.

Defeated, he gave her a nod. Midna's original form then appeared, still bearing that incessant grin of hers.

"Good wolf. Now, shall we?"

He gasped as his body was suddenly frozen in place, a feeling of being quite literally two places at once quickly overtaking him. He witnessed his body begin to break down into tiny black particulates, rocketing upwards…

* * *

The first thing he recognized when his body reassembled into a tangible form was the waters of the Ordon Spring, the pool's waters lapping at his feet… or paws, anyway. Midna had sent him back to Ordon, just as she had said she would. There was no orange glow to the fading light around him, and he saw a few of the night's first stars in the sky. _So, Ordon still isn't covered in twilight_. He breathed an inward sigh of relief, but noticed that his vision was still low to the ground and his body elongated. He was still a wolf.

He looked around for the imp, but she didn't appear. After the deal for her help, he'd figured she would be nearby. Link cautiously plodded over to the broken gate, wondering how he was to proceed. He was hungry, that much was certain. He hadn't eaten since his lunch at the ranch, and judging by fading light, it had been ten hours, if it was still even the same day. He didn't know how much time had passed and chose not to dwell on it. He saw the black and orange barrier of twilight across the bridge, still hanging over Faron Woods. Going by what Princess Zelda had told him, it wasn't disappearing any time soon.

"So, um… what next?"

He gave a small bark of surprise, searching for where the imp's voice had come from. He looked down, and saw another figure waving back at him from his shadow. His shadow changed shape, becoming tangible and three dimensional as it floated before him, a single crimson and yellow eye glowing amidst the otherwise shadowy form of the imp. She had been hiding in his shadow!

She rolled her eye towards him, clearly enjoying seeing his surprise. "What, did you think I'd just disappeared? I'm not letting you off that easily!"

She floated down next to him, giving him a more serious look than before. "Now, don't think that you can just run off to save your friends, because you can't. As you can see," she pointed across the ravine, "The land is covered in twilight beyond that bridge. Last time, a shadow beast pulled you through the curtain of twilight, but if you want to go that way again, you'll need the help of someone _from_ the twilight. Unless you want to wait for another shadow beast, that's me. So really, the only way you can get in to save your friends is to do what I say."

He gave another begrudging nod. If he had to choose between one of the 'shadow beasts' and Midna, it wouldn't be a difficult decision. Midna wasn't trying to kill him… not yet, anyway.

"Now, actually _saving_ your friends… that's up to what you do. But right now, I want a sword and shield to use as I ride my steed." His eyes widened with realization that the gifts meant for the royal family were still in the village. Midna grinned again at his reaction. _What does she always find so amusing?_

"So, you know where to find them? Good! Now hurry up, the twilight is expanding while you wait around. Come on, get moving!"

The imp disappeared back into his shadow, leaving him to himself. He found it slightly disturbing that Midna appeared to be riding his shadow's back, but not his own. Still, as long as she wasn't kicking him or pulling his ears, he was fine with it.

The reality of the situation was starting to sink in for him. If someone had told him that before he left to go to Hyrule that the village would be attacked by bulbins, Colin and Ilia would be kidnapped, he would transform into a wolf and be taken by shadow beasts of twilight to Hyrule castle where he would then meet Princess Zelda herself, all to return to the village he left behind by teleporting with the aid of a magical imp, he didn't know if he would laugh outright or hit them. Now, as a wolf creeping along the path to his home, he was going to add 'stealing the gifts for Hyrule's Royal Family from his friends' to the list. On top of that, he didn't even know if he could turn back into a human at this point, and Midna was only making things worse.

A putrid smell in the air brought Link out of his reverie, causing him to sniff for the source. The scent was stronger as he got closer to the village, and his fur stood on up instinctively. _I've never smelled that here before,_ he thought, and hurried along the path up until he reached his tree-house, ducking into the weeds to stay hidden.

He tensed as he saw three bulbins stalking around his home, their clubs dragging the ground as they wandered, stopping occasionally to sniff the air. _They looked just like the monsters that had attacked them earlier,_ he realized, and his fur stood up in agitation. These monsters were from the same group who had attacked him, kidnapped Colin and Ilia, and here they were, walking around as if they owned the village. For all he knew, they very well could, at this point.

His fury reached its peak, and he leapt from the shadows with a snarl, taking the first monster to the ground by the throat as it cried out for help. The other fiends had scarcely moved before Link was upon them, too, biting and clawing with a ferocity that he didn't know he possessed. In a few brief moments, it was all over, leaving Link panting for breath as he searched for others. Something instinctual had stirred inside of him during the fight, and his stomach growled at the sight of the fresh meat on the pine forest floor.

_I'm not really thinking about that, am I?_ he thought, ignoring the demand that he sate his hunger on these beasts. Even though he felt he could eat through one of Uli's pumpkin pies by himself, he was not desperate enough to eat the monsters he had just killed. Disgusted by the foul taste they left in his mouth, he went back to the grasses and munched on a few of the plants, getting some wild onion grass in the mix as well.

He no longer heard the shuffling of feet and felt he had killed all in the area. He began to walk down the path to the village.

"Wait!" a tiny voice called out, stopping him in his tracks. He turned to the direction of the voice, finding a squirrel perched at the top of the ladder to his tree house. He blinked, not sure if he was imagining things or not.

"Thanks for taking care of those monsters!" it chittered. "They've made this forest a mess and kidnapped the village children… but I know you're not one of them. You smell like this house, and this forest. There may be more monsters about though, so stay safe!" With that, the squirrel scampered off, leaving Link as confused as ever.

"Well, isn't that cute." Midna said from his shadow. "You can hear the little animals talking to you, but you have no clue how to talk to them. Just another thing my pet needs to get the hang of, huh?" He tensed again at the word 'pet,' getting another giggle out of the imp. "As long as you're my slave, I can call you whatever I want. Now, get moving, onion breath!"

_Well, she's just full of surprises, isn't she?_ he thought. The way she spoke about the animal's conversation seemed to imply that she understood it, all while he seemed unable to convey his own words. Her new name for him wasn't helping his situation, either. Shaking it off with some annoyance, he turned back to the path and started walking. _I just hope the other villagers are safe._


	3. Chapter 3: Revelations

_Took a little while on this one, but study and personal matters have come up. I feel that there is a little more "angsty" emotion in this one, but I also attempted to offset it with some humor here and there. Overall, I'm satisfied with the result._

_Thanks to laure for helping me edit, and to WaterRipples, Juli Beawr, Sokka-Mushroom, and Fer20Diaz for supporting and reviewing this story so far. Thanks for your support!_

_This Chapter was last modified 10/25/12, to aid in some character development and description._

* * *

Chapter 3: Revelations

The shield fell from its mount on the wall with a _thud! _as Link struck it, moving over to pick it up from its resting place. Ordon's seal, the horns of the Ordon goat, was intricately carved into the front of the shield, the smooth dense wood appearing strong in the flickering of the home's firelight.

Getting inside Pergie and Jaggle's home hadn't been difficult, but the fact that he was essentially breaking in to their home to steal unnerved him. The entire village had a sense of foreboding to it, all silent save for the watermill attached to Pergie and Jaggle's home as the creek flowed through, with hardly a person about. Trying to stay as quiet as possible, he had explored the village, finding Bo, Pergie, and Jaggle speaking outside the mill, planning to use the Royal Family gifts to help repel further monster attacks. Eavesdropping, Link discovered that not only had they taken Colin and Ilia, but the rest of the village children as well, and Rusl had been wounded in their defense. His heart had frozen in fear at the words; how badly was Rusl hurt? And why had only the children been taken? Before he heard more, the three villagers saw him and, rather than run to the house, sprinted away towards the mayor's home, never stopping to wonder why he wasn't pursuing them.

After leaping onto the rock formations that dotted the waterway, Link had jumped from pillar to pillar and up onto the watermill with Midna's assistance, getting him onto the roof and inside the window that had been left open. _Probably by Jaggle, he was never very diligent about locking up—_

His train of thought was interrupted by Midna springing from his shadow, gazing at the shield he now possessed. "It looks… kind of cheap." she remarked. Link growled again; Pergie had obviously put a lot of work and time into making it. _Who was she to say it was cheap?_

"I don't think that thing will hold up to a hammer, or a fire very well." she continued, gesturing to the wood. "Still, a shield's a shield. Now for the sword!"

The imp ducked back into his shadow as he picked up the shield with his teeth, unsure of how to carry it. With a drunken jump, he attempted to get back up to the window the family had left open… and fell short, smashing against the wall just below it. Dazed, Link dropped the shield as his head throbbed from the collision.

"Pfff ha ha ha! My, aren't we a clumsy wolf! Go ahead, try it again!" Midna laughed, out of his shadow once more.

He gave a growl of irritation. _There she goes again, _he thought. He sat back on his haunches, glaring at her teasing and refusing to budge. When it was evident that Link wasn't going to move, the imp huffed and rolled her visible eye.

"I have to do everything, don't I?" she sighed, snapping her fingers. The shield vanished in a shimmer of black particles, and did not reappear. "Honestly, what would you do without me?"

The annoying imp disappeared once more, her yellow and red eye staring back at him from his shadow. "Now move before someone sees you!"

Resigned to the task at hand, Link obeyed, jumping back up through the window from whence he came and back onto the roof, taking care not to get caught in the home's watermill. Jumping from shingle to shingle, he nimbly landed on the ground, taking care to move as silently as he could. After scaring Bo and Jaggle, he'd rather not put his friends and family through even _more_ stress.

Walking through the path, he cautiously began to cross the bridge towards the mayor's home, the area alight from the burning of torches. Mayor Bo was standing watch outside of his home with a dangerous looking javelin, and he was scanning the darkness beyond. _Right. He _did_ see me, after all. _ He knew it would be natural for Bo to be in search of a danger, but he was still unnerved that he was looking for _him_.

Fortunately, Link found he could see quite well in the dark as a wolf, and while he didn't need the torchlight, he knew he would be spotted if he went across the bridge. With the only way across the village alight, his only alternative was to jump into the stream below. Positioning himself at the side, he hopped up on top of the wooden guard and leapt off into the stream.

_Splash!_

No sooner did he resurface than did Link realize his mistake, tensing in the shallow waters. _They can still hear me, _he groaned inwardly. Sure enough, Bo turned in his direction, his weapon raised as he stepped out onto his deck.

"Hey, Rusl! I think there's something in the water!" Bo called out. Link's eyes widened at the thought. Rusl was the best swordsman in the Ordona Province, and his father figure. He certainly didn't want him to see him as he was now.

Link tensed as he saw Rusl come into view, bandaging wrapped around his torso as he limped forward, wielding a torch in one hand and his sword in the other. _Nayru's love, how badly was he hurt?_ Link thought, trying to exit the stream as quietly as possible.

"Whatever it is Bo, I'll try to lure it out. Get ready." Rusl called out, his torchlight illuminating more and more of the waters. "If you need the sword, it's in the house on the table. Best not to take any chances."

_So that's where it is_. Creeping out onto the bank, Link scampered into the weeds, making his way around the light towards Rusl and Uli's home, having gleaned the sword's whereabouts from Rusl. Padding up to the house, he sniffed around, searching for a way in. The door was locked, although he doubted he'd be able to open it with his paws anyway…or even want to, if Uli was inside. No, he had to find another way. _How am I supposed to get inside?_ he wondered, proceeding to the garden around the house.

Concentrating on his surrounding, Link found a few loose boards on the side of the house, almost large enough to fit through. He tested the boards with a nudge, and while they didn't give much, the fertile soil was soft. He'd seen some of the dogs in the village digging before, burying bones and such only to dig them up later. _Maybe I could give it a shot_.

Using his paws as small shovels, he began to dig in the earth, finding that it could be removed without much difficulty. _Perfect_, he thought, inching himself forward into the home once he had widened the space to where he felt he could fit through. His _family's_ home. _If Uli's still here…_, he thought, and held his breath as the gravity of the situation began to sink in. He was in his adoptive parent's living room, and Uli was certainly in the house, sound asleep upon the bed as the fire in the fireplace cast a flickering light.

_If even one person saw him in here, a beast inside of an Ordon home…this could get bad_, he thought nervously, and snuck forward as quietly as possible, taking great care not to wake Uli. Lying on their dining table was the sword Rusl had crafted, still in its scabbard as the day Rusl had prepared it for him to take with the shield.

Standing on two legs, Link placed his paws on the table to reach the sword, grabbing it between his teeth. Midna sprung forth once again, looking pleased.

"Good, you've got a sword. I guess we can head to the—"

A knock at the door caused them to freeze, and Uli stirred in her slumber. _Uh oh, not good, _Link thought worriedly.

"Uli, it's Bo! Rusl and I have seen some of the monsters about, and thought we could use another sword. Can you get the door?"

Uli yawned and rubbed at her eyes, sitting up in the bed. _Not good!_ he thought, panicking.

Midna retreated back into his shadow, dissolving the sword as she went. "Time to move, wolf!" she whispered urgently. Link rushed back to the space in the wall when he heard a gasp behind him.

"Goddesses above! What is that?!" Uli screamed, loud enough to wake the village. "Bo, there's a beast in the house!"

Cursing his luck, Link quickly ducked back through the hole he dug, sliding his way out of the home as he heard the crash of a pot thrown after him. _That was too close_, he thought as the door to the house crashed open as the mayor charged the door, searching for him even as he escaped into the garden and back down along the stream bank.

"Rusl, a monster got into your home! It escaped through to the garden!" Bo yelled as he dashed out of the house, searching for Link as he ran towards the bridge.

_Come on, come on,_ Link thought as he galloped along the bank. The bridge was almost a beacon at this point. He was focused on just making it out of the village at this point, his feet pounding the ground—

He heard a quiet whistle as he reached the bridge. Acting on instinct, he leapt to the side.

_Shhhhhhhhh THUNK!_

Bo's javelin imbedded itself in the bridge's wooden planks just where he would have ran a moment before. _Too close!_

Link's adrenaline was up, heightening his already sharp senses. He saw a still lit torch lying in the path up ahead as he dashed forward, but he couldn't really avoid it at this point. Now over the bridge, he dashed towards the edge of town and past the torchlight, praying that he wouldn't be seen as he reached the path towards—

A metallic gleam caught his eye a moment before he was knocked to the ground, the flat of a blade striking him in the side. Stumbling, Link just barely avoided another attack as Rusl lashed out at him again, a hard glint his eyes even in the near darkness. He didn't think Rusl could tell that he was a wolf and not one of the bulbins in the faint light, but Rusl didn't seem like he would care even if he could.

"Who do you think you are, preying upon this village?" Rusl asked with a snarl, far angrier than Link had ever seen him before. What shone in Rusl's eyes was pure hatred and rage, and the fact that it was directed towards _him_ filled him with shock, rooting him to the ground.

"You terrorize us, enter our homes, and kidnap our children? What have you done with them, beast? Where are my sons?!" Rusl roared, striking out again in the near darkness.

Link watched as the world seemed to slow, unable to escape his fate as he was about to be killed by his own father. His body was screaming at him to move, to dodge, _anything_—

A sudden bolt of energy connected with Rusl's sword, knocking the blade out of his hand as he staggered back, one hand clutching his side. Brought out of his stupor, Link found himself able to move again and dashed past him towards the spring.

"So help me, I'll have your heads, you monsters! Colin! Link! I'll find you!" Rusl's cries of anger and grief rang in his ears as he fled, striking him far harder than Rusl's blade had. _If only you knew, Rusl_, he thought bitterly, filled with regret.

The pine trees that surrounded his home were alive with the voices of animals, but he paid no mind to what he would have considered a miracle only a few hours ago. His adrenaline fading, Link began to feel the bruising in his side from Rusl's blade, preventing him from drawing full breaths. His shadow left the ground once again, Midna's eye flashing in the darkness.

"What were you doing back there, you stupid wolf?" she asked heatedly. "You could have ran, or attacked him, or done anything besides sitting in the dirt like a puppy. You're welcome, by the way."

He was still shaken from his encounter with his father, and did not respond as he walked towards the bridge to Faron Woods, feeling hollow inside. His friends taken, himself a monster to his own mother and father. Goddesses, Rusl would have killed him! And he didn't even know if he could become a human again. And all with an infernal imp for company—

"Wait…"

He stopped, brought out of his reverie. An ethereal voice floated from the spring, soft but commanding.

"Come… to my spring…" the voice intoned, beckoning to him. His inner turmoil forgotten, he cautiously walked forward, noticing to the spring still lying smashed about the ground. Another grim reminder of Colin and Ilia's capture.

"You have been transformed by the power of shadow… " the voice said. "Come to me…"

Link started. _This spirit knows I've been turned into a wolf? Maybe it can help me_, he thought, moving forward more eagerly as he stepped into the round shallow pool.

He was just approaching the spring's center when he noticed the sounds of the forest again… or rather, the pervading silence that had replaced them. He had a moment of déjà vu as he tensed, ready for something to jump out from the trees that lined the spring. What came next, however, was no bulbin rider.

Black stones lined with glowing runes fell from the sky, forming a twilit barrier that trapped him in the spring. He looked up, seeing that a hole had appeared above the spring; whether it was a spell or another dimension was unclear, but magic was clearly being used here.

"Beware…" the voice warned. "…a shadow being approaches…"

His heart raced once again as a black beast identical to the one in Faron Woods fell from the sky, landing in front of him. It's tendrils, its unnatural limb lengths and disproportionate body was… wrong. It walked on its pinky and index fingers, hands creeping like large spiders as he moved towards him, a deafening otherworldly cry escaping its maw.

Shaking his head to try to clear the ringing in his ears, he snapped at the creature as he evaded the beast's grasp. The black tendrils of the beast flared in agitation, and it sprinted after him with a speed he didn't think was possible, barreling into him as it attempted to grab him by the throat. Winded, but now within striking distance, Link rushed into its attack, leaping onto its midsection and biting down

The beast roared, but it was more pained than angry. He bit down again and again until the beast flung him off. Amazingly, Link felt even better than he had before the battle, the healing waters of the spring working their magic as he circled the wounded beast, no longer moving nearly as fast as it had been. _It was their fault_, he thought as he growled menacingly, stalking it. _These creatures invaded Hyrule, turned me into a wolf, kidnapped the children, Colin, Ilia…_

With a snarl, he leapt upon the beast again, easily dodging its labored attack as he went for its throat, taking it down into the spring waters. The beast cried out again, but stilled in the water. No sooner had it fallen than did the beast dissolve into the black twilight particles as the corrupted animals had before, rocketing upwards towards the rift.

Link howled in triumph at his victory. _They aren't invincible,_ Link realized, both surprised and elated. _If I can defeat them, maybe the children stand a chance!_

His thoughts were interrupted by the stones around the spring glowing suddenly. Without warning, the light grew to encompass the entire spring, making him force shut his eyes at the light that was near blinding after being in the dark for so long. Squinting, Link was startled once again as a glowing being rose from the spring's waters, a creature pure white and similar to an Ordon goat in appearance. _Wait, that can't be… from the stories… could it?_

It shimmered, as if sensing his thoughts. "Oh brave youth…" it said majestically, "I am one of the four light spirits that protect Hyrule by the will of the Goddesses. I am Ordona."

Link's jaw dropped in surprise, in awe of the spirit that watched over their province and village.

"The black beast you have slain was a shadow being, seeking to seize the power of light that I wield." she continued. "My brethren in Hyrule have already had their light stolen by these beasts, and the entire kingdom has been reduced to a netherworld, twisted with nightmares by the powers of darkness."

Link glanced up at the portal, and then to the blanket of twilight across the ravine. _That explains the twilight, _he thought_, But where did these beasts come from? The netherworld? Is there only one netherworld, or more than one? And why would they come here?_

This blight will not stop with Hyrule. Before long, the entire world of light will fall into the hands of the twilight king, and will be at his mercy. To save this land from its impending doom, the lost light must be recovered. The three light spirits who have lost their light must be revived, so that this twilight may be banished from this land. Only those with the power of the Goddesses can traverse the land in this state."

The spirit fixed him with an intense gaze, as if peering into his very soul. "You, Link, have been blessed by the Goddesses."

Link's mind went numb. He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. _What?_

"You still have not discovered your true power…" Ordona said as Link gaped at her. "Those transformed by twilight usually cannot recover their original forms, but you…"

Ordona gestured in the direction of the bridge, and across the ravine. "If you were to return to Faron Woods where you were first transformed, and revive the light spirit…There, by the power of the spirit of Faron, you may find the means to regain your original state of being."

Link couldn't believe his ears. _I can become a human again!_ he thought jubilantly, his tail wagging uncontrollably in excitement.

"Be safe, my child." Ordona said as she faded back into the spring, leaving the forest as dark as it had been before, the echoes of her voice still played about the spring as he turned to leave. "The spirit of Faron awaits…"

* * *

Upon reaching the twilight, Midna had taken him in as she had promised, albeit far less forcefully than the shadow beast. Once inside, Midna returned to her tangible and colorful form… as well as returning to his back, using him as her steed once more. _Great._

"So, these are the weapons you use in this world? Midna asked, wearing the shield over her face as she held the sword clumsily. Link snickered at her display. _And she says _I'm_ the stupid one?_ His humor quickly turned to dismay as she gave the weapon a few blind swings, narrowly missing Link's head as he ducked to avoid her. "You really think this thing can slay the creatures of twilight?" she asked, tossing the sword and shield aside, the shield landing on _his_ face instead.

"Well, I won't use these, but I'll hang onto them for you in case you ever become human again." she said resignedly, causing the tools to vanish once again at the snap of her fingers. "All right, a promise is a promise… I trust you enough to help."

She leaned down to his face then, speaking right in his ear. "In exchange for my help, though, I need you to gather some things for me. I can't tell you all the details now, but it'll be easy, trust me…"

_Why do I get the feeling that she's lying?_

She flipped onto her back as she lay against him, looking at her nails. "But enough about that. That light spirit is waiting for us. Better get going, now. Don't blame me if your world stays this way if you don't hurry up and find its light!"

She was right of course, but he still went forward with some hesitation. The long shadows that the trees cast were calming, but it all felt surreal, as if it didn't belong. The forest was eerily silent as Link and Midna passed through it, though it was otherwise the same as it had been when he entered it the other day. The calming effect of the light was deceiving, however, as corrupted animals or shadow beasts could still be about, watching…waiting…

Link shook himself. He knew they could be killed, he shouldn't fear as much as he had. _But that was in your world,_ a voice said in his mind. _You're no longer in a holy spring with healing waters for your injuries. No, here is where darkness reigns, and those beasts can do far more than you can. Midna can hide in the shadows, who's to say there aren't beasts watching you right now in the shadows cast by the trees, the grass?_

He pushed the thoughts out of his mind. Fearing the creatures wouldn't help him in killing them. He plodded along the same path that he had chased Talo on, coming upon the clearing before the Faron Spring… and his traveling pack! The beasts hadn't touched it! He grinned at the prospect of retrieving his lost gear, as well as the food he had—

_Food._

He had almost forgotten about the food he had packed for the trip. Fresh baked bread from the morning of his departure, Ordon goat cheese, even some of Uli's pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread with a small cup of butter…

His hesitation replaced by his hunger, Link dashed forward, intent on getting to the foods that awaited him as he entered the clearing with reckless abandon. He forgot the beasts that might have lurked about, focused entirely on the traveling pack.

Midna looked pleasantly surprised at his sudden urgency. "Well, that's more like it! Keep moving!" she encouraged him, patting his sides. "You know, I would have thought we'd seen something else besides all these trees by now—"

Their progress skid to a halt as another barrier was brought up around them, just as it had been in Ordon Spring. This time, not just one, but three shadow beasts materialized from the twilight, eyeing him as if he were _their_ food, preventing him from reaching his pack and provisions. Whether the beasts had planned the trap or not, the result was the same.

"Ugh, penned in again. Who do they think they're dealing with?" Midna huffed in annoyance, eyeing the creatures with disdain as Link growled in defiance.

"No need to take these guys on one at a time, right? Mister 'blessed by the Goddesses' can take them all at once!" Floating up from his back, Midna hovered above the makeshift arena, giving him a smirk. "So… you can handle this on your own, right? Good luck!"

As if on cue, the beasts darted forward, their tendrils flaring as they all tried to get at him at once. Link drove himself into their attacks, latching onto the body of the closest beast and biting down as he had the one in the spring, dropping it to the ground. The second one smacked him off of the beast with a powerful jab, but he recovered quickly, feigning a leap for the third while instead springing back to the second.

_Two down, one to go_ he thought as he brought the second beast down as well. Turning to the third, he was dropped to the ground by a shrill scream from the beast, its cry echoing throughout the forest. Gritting his teeth, Link blinked in surprise as the two supposedly dead shadow beasts shook themselves from the ground, their wounds disappearing as they turned to him again. _This is_ not _good_.

"Hey, what's taking so long?" Midna said from above. "If you leave the last one alive, it's just going to revive the others." Great, he thought. "Got any suggestions?" he tried to bark out, panting from his efforts. She rolled her eyes and flew back down from her position. "And here I wanted a show. Just follow my lead." Drawing on her magic, Midna created a sort of… bubble, spreading outwards from their position. "Now, listen up." she commanded. "When they're inside the sphere, let them have it!"

He wasn't in a position to argue, and growled involuntarily as the beasts pressed forward. When they entered the magic, however, they were encased in an orange energy, and their movements seemed to slow to a standstill. Taking Midna's advice, he leapt through the air, targeting the closest beast as he found himself propelled as if Midna was helping him move faster. Not even slowing down, he jumped to the second and third, aiming for their vitals as he moved in the blink of an eye. The sphere dissipated, and the three beasts fell to the ground, dissolving as the beast in the spring had before.

He looked to Midna in thanks, astounded at her ability. She saw the look in his eyes, and scoffed in response.

"Please, you weren't going to make it without my help. A good master takes care of their pets." she said mischievously, grinning once again as he let out a sigh of frustration. Her grin vanished as Link lurched forward in an attempt to get to his pack, causing her to yelp in surprise as she clung to his back tighter.

"Now hold on!" she said angrily, lifting Link's traveling bag just as he reached it. "What's so important about this?"

His stomach growled audibly as his answer. Midna's anger quickly turned to a fit of giggling as Link could only groan with impatience.

"Ohhhh, I see…" she said thoughtfully, still holding his provisions from his grasp as he practically drooled for them. "Well my pet, I didn't like how you just treated me. So, I want you to beg for your food."

He snorted a reply. _Beg? No way_, he thought, but hesitated when Midna brought his bag further out of reach.

She waited for a moment, dangling the bag in front of him. "You want what's in here to eat? All you have to do is beg for it."

Link defiantly tried to grab it out of the air. _I am not going to beg for my own_—

"Well, if that's the way you want it…" Midna made a motion to cast her magic. Panicked, Link immediately sat down, tongue hanging out in appeasement. "That's better..." she grinned, enjoying his embarrassment. "Now, roll over!"

Resigned to her antics, Link rolled over, getting a laugh out of the frustrating imp as he entertained her for his food. Jumping, sitting, and even barking for his food earned several more fits of giggles from the imp, before at last she dropped his pack to the ground, laughing once again as he fell upon it. The bread was a little hard, the cheese warm, and the pumpkin pie and bread had smashed together… and they were _delicious_. He came away from the bag with a mouthful of bread and goat cheese, a mess of crumbs on his face as he sat back, satisfied.

Midna looked at him in disgust, but took his pack and stored it along with his weapons. "Well, we certainly lack for manners, don't we? Now, no more distractions. The light spirit is just in the spring ahead."

His hunger sated, Link walked to the right, and into a small cut out in the rocky surrounding. No ornate gates greeted them as the two entered the forest's spring, the waters bubbling down from the elevated source into a shallow pool that lapped at his feet. The glow of the spirit, far dimmer than that of Ordona, hung above where the water's met, it's shape indistinguishable.

"…Please…be careful…" the spirit warned. "The clouds of dusk cover this land… and its inhabitants have become as spirits… now plagued by monsters of the twilight…"

"Blue-eyed beast… Look for my light…retrieve that which was stolen by the shadow beasts…and place it in this vessel."

A small object floated down the spring's edge, a string of small bubbles attached to it. Picking it up with his teeth, he passed it to Midna, where she handled the intricate device.

"It looks like grapes…" Midna snickered quietly. Link gave a smirk as well. It _did_ look like a grapevine.

"In the shadows of twilight…" the spirit continued, "…the dark insects are as invisible as those inhabitants who lived here… Let me use what power I have left… to reveal those who have consumed the light…"

Small dots affected Link's vision, as if he was suddenly able to look through walls.

"…Find them… and return the light to me…" the spirit whispered as it vanished back into the spring, saving its power.

Midna kicked him in the sides again. "Well, wolfie, time to get that light!" she urged, steering him back towards the forest. Magic flared as he sensed the ground stirring in front of him, and he took off into the woods after them.

* * *

The insects themselves were larger than any he had ever seen before, and seemed to glow with a magic that shot out at him in defense. Like the corrupted rodents in Hyrule castle, however, the bugs fell to a single bite, and reinvigorated him with the light that the vessel absorbed. He chased the bugs to where he had ventured to save Talo and the monkey, though now a dark fog clouded the forest floor, unnaturally violet and foreboding. Fortunately, he was able to traverse it with Midna's help, leaping into the lower hanging trees and from the crevices in the rock faces. They even ran into several more shadow beasts, but once again Midna's assistance was vital to his overcoming of the obstacles. Even if he didn't like it, he _did_ need her help in doing all of this.

The final remaining insects of darkness where positioned outside of the very temple where he had rescued Talo and the monkey, and a light spirit sat atop a totem pole, quivering in the air. Focusing his senses, he perceived the spirit to be a monkey… the fur on the monkey identical to the one he had saved the other day. Turning to the insects, he leapt from bug to bug, absorbing the light as he went, satisfied that he had gotten them all.

"…What? The bugs just died?" he heard from the totem. _That's right_, he thought. _Animals can understand each other,_ and listened in to what the monkey had to say.

"Whew, lucky for me…" the monkey continued. "Ever since the boss went nuts in the head, there've been scary monsters everywhere… Those village kids got led through the woods for some reason… what's happened here?"

_Wait, the children went through here? _Link started. _Could they be—_

The vessel of light glowed brightly, and he suddenly felt himself in two places at once, as he had when Midna had teleported him to Ordon. His sight was greeted with a blinding light, as he found himself back in the Faron spring… now a glow with bright sunshine. The twilight was gone! The forest was restored!

He no longer felt Midna's presence on his back. Indeed, she sprung forward as a shadow, sitting atop of the spring's edge.

"Aww, but it was so nice here in the twilight… What's so great about a world of light, anyway?"

The light of the spirit began to flood the area, and she took her place in his shadow once again. "Well, see you later!"

The spring glowed as bright as that of Ordona's, revealing a creature that seemed much like a… squirrel? Its tail wrapped around it's body, and it stared at him intently.

"My name is Faron." it intoned. "I am the spirit who dwells in this forest. By order of the Goddesses, I protect this sacred place. O brave youth… In the land covered in twilight, where people roam as spirits, you were transformed into a blue-eyed beast. That was a sign."

"The powers of the chosen one rest within you…" Faron continued, "And those powers are awakening. Look now at your awakened form…"

Link looked to the ground, and found his gaze far above where it had been. He saw boots, clothes… green clothes, and felt chainmail underneath. He didn't know how he came to wear these new clothes, and he didn't care. He was _human_, a human once again! He wiggled his fingers in front of his face, astounded at the miracle and just the feeling of normalcy.

"The green tunic that you now wear once belonged to the ancient hero chosen by the Goddesses… His power is yours. His is the true power that slept within you. You, Link, have been chosen by the Goddesses, and have been granted their blessing to act in their stead."

His relief was short-lived. As if his surprise couldn't be greater, he felt his head spin from the sudden revelation. _Ordona had told me I've been blessed by the Goddesses, but this?_

"Why me? What do I do?" he asked, nearly speechless at the thought.

"The Goddesses chose of their own design. Those who are chosen have been seen to have great potential for the good of Hyrule, and your skills are needed now. A dark power rests in the temple deep within these woods. It is a forbidden power. Long, long ago, I and the other spirits of light locked it away. Because of its nature, it is a power that should never be touched by any who dwell in the light, lest they succumb to the folly of power. But this world has been strangled beneath the mantle of shadows, and so there is no choice… you must match the power of the king of shadows. If you would seek this power, then proceed to the temple in the depths of this forest."

Vanishing back into the depths of the spring, Faron left Link alone in the spring, gazing at his human form and clothes. The sheer number of events he had been through in a single day was starting to catch up to him, and he sat down in the grass to collect his thoughts.

"The Goddesses have chosen me? And I have to find a forbidden power in the temple?" he said aloud, almost disbelieving even after he was convinced it was real.

"So that's why you turned into that beast!" Midna suddenly exclaimed, appearing before him again in her shadowy form. _Well, almost alone, _he thought. "What a shame… I mean, maybe you'd rather just walk around as a spirit like the rest of this world, totally unaware of what was happening, right?" She giggled again, and Link gave her a frown.

Link brought himself back up, standing now eye level with the imp. "Midna, I appreciate the help you've given me, but after all that has happened I need to go and save those children as soon as possible."

"Ah ah, not so fast." she said, floating closer to him. "You're my servant, remember? I say that we head to the temple first! I…we need that power to fight back against this twilight! The spirit said so himself!"

"Oh, really?" he asked, getting angry. "You've been nothing but cold to me ever since we met. You've insulted me, rode me around like a mule, and are now suggesting that I just abandon my friends to the beasts that kidnapped them? I don't think so." he glared at her, and turned to walk away.

"Don't you turn your back on me! Without my help, you'd still be in that cell!" she yelled, her visible eye flashing brightly. "And if you don't get that power, those children will just be in trouble once again after the twilight returns!"

Against his better judgment, he stopped. He sighed inwardly in defeat. As much as Link wished it otherwise, she was right. He turned to her then, jaw set.

"Alright," he began, "…suppose I go to the temple. How will that help me get to the children in time?"

"Well, remember what that monkey said? That the children had passed through the forest?" she asked. "The way I see it, they could actually be in that temple, waiting for you to rescue them!"

Link perked up at the thought. _Could they really be in the temple?_ He didn't want to get his hopes up only to have them dashed later, but he couldn't help but feel that Midna could be right. _And even if they aren't there,_ he mused,_ Faron said I need that power, and maybe I could find clues to the children's whereabouts… oh, what the hell._

"…I guess it couldn't hurt to look." Link conceded, getting a smile from the shadowy form in front of him.

"Good! Well, good luck, 'Mr. Important Hero'!" she giggled, snapping her fingers. The Ordon sword and shield materialized in his hands, as if he had been holding them all along. "I'll just hold onto the rest of your pack. Might still be some of that bread you pigged out on."

Diving back into his shadow with a sly grin, Midna left him alone in the forest, the calls of birds and chirping of insects now returning. Turning back to the forest path, Link took one more moment to marvel at the garb of the ancient Hero. The clothes that now belonged to _him_.

_Well, Mr. Important Hero, _he thought. _Time to go save those children. _Shuffling his gear and adjusting the sword and shield, he set off away from the spring and towards the temple that lay in wait.


	4. Chapter 4: Faron Woods

_Whew. That one took forever. Seriously, though, I feel awful in keeping you guys waiting for so long. College, writer's block on Breakpoint (my other story), and even a little Halo 4 are what held me back on this one. I always finish what I start, though. Again, it is best to check my profile for updates on my stories, and I appreciate everyone's patience and support so far. You guys are awesome!_

_Thanks Sokka-Mushroom, Sir Pudding, Fer Diaz, Juli, and Sonic for reviewing the last chapter. Hopefully this one proves to be equally enjoyable._

_I also want to make it a point that not everything will be as it was in the game in this story, and some embellishments have been made here and there. Inspiration comes in spurts, after all. This chapter might be a bit darker because of it, but I'm satisfied with the result as it is right now._

_EDIT: Also, I'm posting this at 2:30 a.m. on 11/22, so Happy Thanksgiving to all those in the U.S.! For everyone else, enjoy your Thursday!_

_Second EDIT: This chapter was last modified 11/23/12_

* * *

Chapter 4: Faron Woods

Link wandered through the woods with sword in hand, ready for the monsters that lay within. The chainmail that he now wore underneath the Hero's tunic was snug, but not uncomfortable. What was discomforting was the warmth that he now felt. Sure, as a wolf he had been a little warm, but as he was used to the light casual clothing that was worn in the village the three layers of cloth and steel stood in stark contrast to what he wore now. In fact, in his jubilation of being a human again, he hadn't even voiced the question of how he had come to wear it. _Probably magic._

There were fewer noises that he could detect as a human than as a wolf, but that thankfully meant that he had fewer conversations to listen to as well. The small discussions from the squirrels and birds still unnerved him a little, and the fact that the animals had intelligence that was greater than anyone could have ever guessed also left him wondering what else they could have been hiding from him. Even Epona could have been talking about him, and the goats probably cursed at them as he herded them into—

"Hey! Wolf boy! Your friends aren't going to save themselves!" his shadow voiced suddenly, disrupting his thoughts.

_And there was_ her _as well._ "Getting there, Midna. It takes a while to move through these woods," he said with a frown, ducking under a low hanging branch from one of the thousands of pine trees that were in the forest.

"Well, move faster!" she ordered, her ever watchful crimson eye looking up at him. _I'm still not used to that yet_, he thought with a bit of a shiver, and continued to crunch through the fallen sticks and pine needles.

The path to the temple was the same, but with the clear daylight shining through the canopy of the trees and the well-lit clearing that they found themselves in made the forest far less alien than when it had been covered in twilight. No longer were the tall pines that surrounded him in the narrow path bathed in an unnatural orange and golden glow, the winding dirt path beneath his feet no longer full of long shadows without sources.

_In fact_, he thought as he stepped around a small boulder and was confronted with a fork in the road, _the walk to the temple could be almost peaceful. Almost._ Link looked from left to right, the left containing the rocky outcrop of the cave's entrance that led deeper into the forest, where he had chased after Talo before. He couldn't deny that there was still a sense of foreboding that hung in the air, bearing down on the otherwise sun-filled woods. The bulbins still stalked the forest, after all, and there were probably some monsters that—

A sudden snapping sound to his left caught his attention, coming from the cave. No sounds came from his right, where the path led off into a clearing… and apparent safety. He wasn't sure what animal made that noise, but what gave him pause was the heavy rustling of leaves and vegetation. _Deku babas_.

Link shuddered at the thought of the carnivorous plants. Nearly five feet tall and capable of swallowing a squirrel whole, the "plants" were notorious for catching the unwary traveler off guard, as they would pretend to simply be a collection of vines until it was too late. The fact that they had a mouth full of acid and razor sharp teeth only added to the horror that could be conjured up in stories around the fireside. The plants were supposed to be a rare sight, and only found deep in the older parts of the forest. Or at least, they should have been deeper. _Just goes to show that the forest is getting more dangerous, _he thought.

Link hesitated outside the mouth of the cavern for a moment, trying to work up the courage to enter. The tunnel appeared to be pitch black, and he had no light source on hand to speak of.

"What's the matter, afraid of the dark?" Midna asked with a cruel smile, picking up on his trepidation as she materialized.

He shook his head. "More of what's in it, Midna. There's no way I'm going in there without a torch or a light. Not if I want to make it out alive, anyway… and I _do_," he said quickly, after seeing Midna's eyes light up with another grin of hers.

"Just remember that the longer you wait here, the longer your friends are in danger," she said, her grin turning into a smirk. "No pressure!" she giggled as she ducked back into his shadow.

Scowling at her barb, Link turned from the mouth of the cave and ventured to the right this time, following the path into another clearing in the forest. He didn't want to show it, but he was worried. Midna was right, after all, and that only made her comment more annoying. Rusl and Uli had taught him "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." _Where were her parents in teaching her that? _he thought. _Come to think of it, I don't even really know who or what Midna really is, other than that she's from the Twilight. Does she even have parents?_

_Why do you even care?_ Another voice said in his head. _It's not like she's concerned about who you are or what you're doing here. All she wants is that power in the temple._ His thoughts divided, he finally just let the notion drop, continuing the walk in silence.

Just then, a small hut came into view, sitting just on the edge of the clearing. A cooking fire sat outside, still burning from when whoever made it. The hut was a simple building made of sticks and clay, and a few pots and baskets lay about. Cautiously, Link ventured forward sword in hand, his shield strapped to his left arm as he readied his blade with his right. It was possible that whoever lived here was just inside, or they had left after the monsters started showing up. With the fire still lit, however, he was hoping it was the former.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Link called out, lowering his sword as he did so. "I'm looking to go through the caves to get to the temple, and could use a torch to light my way, if you have any."

Silence greeted him, only broken by the wind in the trees and the occasional bird call. With a sigh, Link walked over to the fire, strapping his shield back on over his shoulders as he moved to grab a stick to light.

He stopped short of putting the stick in the fire. Right next to the campfire was a log with several lanterns that sat in a small pile, along with a cauldron of an oily substance. _Lantern oil_, he thought. _This would be perfect._

Looking around for the owner one more time, Link stooped to grab a lantern from the pile.

"I'm just going to borrow one of your lanterns to get through the— "

"Did you say lanterns?"

"Nayru's love!" Link swore as he jumped back, his sword ready to strike at the sudden voice. A man sat up groggily from behind the log, a comical amount of sticks and leaves in his afro as he looked at Link through barely opened eyes. His heart-rate returning to normal, Link lowered his sword as he stared pensively at the man, not sure of his intent.

"What were you doing back there?" Link asked, honestly curious.

"Oh… I was taking a nap. Felt kinda stressed out after those bugs were around, you know? So I came out here to cook up some soup, and just sort of fell asleep on the log… or at least, I was on the log." the man said as he looked around, scratching his head.

Link put his blade back in its sheath as he stepped forward, reaching over to shake his hand. "I'm Link. Sorry if I gave you a bit of a scare, there. I wasn't expecting that."

"Hey, it's all good. Name's Coro." he said, meeting his handshake. "You mentioned something about lanterns?"

"Yes. I was planning on heading to the temple, and was wondering if—"

"Hang on. You said you were going to the temple? There are monsters all over that part of the woods!" Coro exclaimed.

"I know," Link said patiently. "That's why I'm going there. My friends were captured by them, and I think they might have been taken there."

"Well, good luck to you, guy! And hey, you're going to need this." he said as he handed him a lantern. "Been giving away free lanterns to try to drum up business. I sell lantern oil, you see. Bunch of the locals have paid me a visit or two, but not so much since the woods got rough."

"Seeing as you're headed that way, though…" he continued. "…you should probably take some extra oil as well. Now, I'm not usually one to part with merchandise, you know, but if you're able to kill those monsters and make the forest safer, then you then you deserve it."

Coro procured a small bottle, dipping it in the lantern oil first before handing it to Link. "Just be sure to send some business my way, yeah? I won't be able to give handouts to just every guy who wants to save the forest."

"Well… thank you!" Link said, taken aback by his generosity. "When I get my friends out safely, I'll be sure to spread the word. Thanks!"

"No problem, man," Coro said with a lazy wave. "Take it easy!"

Turning back to the path with the lantern and oil in hand, he gave Coro a wave in return before heading off.

"Free stuff is always good." Midna said from his shadow. "Mr. Hero finally has a little light to go through the scary tunnel. Are you happy now?"

Link rolled his eyes. "As ready as you can be to go into a dark tunnel. Full of man-eating deku-babas." He took a deep breath, steadying himself before the cave's entrance. There was a chance that he wouldn't even reach the temple, after all. But what kind of hero would he be if that happened?

Link set down the lantern and struck some flint into the oil. A flame sprang forth immediately, its warm glow illuminating the area.

No, the Goddesses wouldn't let their hero fall to a few monsters in a forest.

Attaching the lantern to his belt, Link ventured into the darkness of the tunnel before him, determined to reach his destination.

The caves were not as foreboding as he thought they would be, given the circumstances. Some keese were flying about, and a few rats squeaked in the corners here and there, but for the most part the wooden steps in the cave floor were as they had been when he chased after Talo. That is, aside from the lack of lit torch sconces and the more dangerous monsters that lurked.

If he hadn't been so confident in getting to the temple, he wasn't sure how anyone would have set foot in the cave, given the sheer intensity of the noise from its depths.

Deku babas grew up from wherever they could put down their roots, it seemed, and the cave was filled with the chattering of their teeth as they tried to snap at the rats and bats from the floor, the walls, and even hanging down from the ceiling. In the lantern's light, he had been able to see the blue-bodied carnivorous plants clearly, and thanked Din that he hadn't encountered any of the larger kinds. Most of the monsters were only around two feet tall, but some reached nearly twice that length, with a maw as big as a cucco.

A few of them had even popped up right in front of him, startling him when his focus was on the rest of his surroundings. His saving grace was that the plants were limited by their stalks, and could only reach as far as they were long. Whenever they struck out at him, he simply slashed at their mouth, cutting their stems as they recoiled from the blow.

_I don't want to do that again,_ he thought with a shudder_. Even though I made it through unharmed, I never want to do that again._

He was still breathing heavy as he sat down at the cave's exit, with Midna ranting on about something he wasn't really listening to.

"…I thought that you might have some kind of sword training, seeing as must have killed some of these things before. And after I worked so hard to get you that sword and shield, too! After all that, you just get through the cave on your own luck? Because I don't think what you were doing was too skilled for a—"

"Midna. Stop." Link interrupted, tired of it all.

She floated up from his shadow, her hands on her hips as she glared at him.

"What?" she asked heatedly, her visible eye narrowed to a dangerous slit.

He sighed. "I'm not in the mood to argue right now. I wasn't doing too well back there, I know, but—"

"Yeah, yeah. You almost got yourself killed, it's a big deal. A dead hero isn't of any use to anybody, you know." She said, cutting him off. "I don't think you should be interrupting me, wolf boy. I may not be able to interact with you _physically_ in this world of yours, but there are still plenty of other places in your land that are covered in twilight, and you'll get to deal with me then." Midna gave him another of her grins, her left eye widening from anger to mischievous mirth. "And I'm looking forward to it."

"You know we'd probably get to the temple faster if you weren't teasing me the whole time," Link said as he stood up, trying to ignore her last statement as he stretched.

"Now where would the fun in that be?" she asked rhetorically, and flew back into his shadow with a giggle, leaving him to his thoughts.

Link surveyed his surroundings, his lantern still at his hip. Its weight suggested it had about half of the fuel left in it, but it would probably last another hour or so at least. Unless he dropped it, of course.

He came upon the same foggy field that he had gotten around as a wolf, hunting the insects that had stolen Faron's light. The canopy of trees left the forest floor dark and shaded, and the violet fog continued to billow around beneath them, unnatural as ever. The difference this time was that he was a human now, and they weren't in the twilight for Midna to help him anymore. _Looks like the only way to get to the temple now would be to go through it_, he thought. _Great._

He approached the field gingerly, taking his lantern in his left hand while he had his sword in his right. The fog almost seemed to react to the lantern's light, receding slightly as he walked forward. _Interesting._

He took another few steps forward, and the fog receded another few paces, only wherever the light reached strongly enough. Whatever the fog was, it was definitely of twilit origin, and did not like the light one bit.

He was about to take another step when he was suddenly knocked to the ground, something landing on top of him from above. The lantern and sword fell from his hands, and whatever was on top of him left as soon as it had landed, getting off of his back. Getting up as quickly as he could, he looked for the assailant and his weapon, getting his shield out to protect himself. It wasn't much, but at least he could still defend against whatever it was.

A monkey, the same monkey that he'd saved the other day, held his lantern high upon a stick, barking and beckoning to him. "Oh, come on," he said exasperatedly. The monkey simply beckoned him to follow it, getting a rise out of Midna as well.

"What, you're just going to stand there? That monkey took your lantern. Follow her!" she commanded, urging him forward. As soon as he moved, the monkey dashed into the fog, the lantern visible as it waved back and forth on the stick. Instead of moving in a straight line to the other side, the monkey was sporadic, jumping onto tree roots and over rocks as it moved, barely pausing at times to make sure that he was following. Link tried to stay in the light of the lantern, but with the gear that he wore and the sword that he had in his hand, he was slowly falling behind in his chase of the nimble monkey, falling a little further back into the fog with every bound she made.

"Hey, monkey! Wait up!" he called out, only to realize that he was trying to talk to a monkey as a human. He would have laughed at his stupidity if he wasn't so out of breath.

He could barely see the lantern in the distance as he breathed heavily, drawing more and more on the foggy air. He began to feel lightheaded as the fog steadily clouded his vision, but he had to keep moving towards the light. If he didn't, he could… he could…

_Tch-tch-tch-tch-at-at-atatatata!_

Link whirled, looking for the source of the noise. "Deku babas," he groaned. "They could be anywhere in here—"

_Shhh. Shhh. Shhh._

A club was being drug along the ground. _Bulbins, too_, he thought worriedly. _How will I be able to see them?_

The sounds seemed to be coming from all over. He could no longer see where he was going, only the dark violet fog that clouded his vision. He felt himself slowing down, searching for the sources of the sounds as his heartbeat drummed in his ears. He thought he heard Midna say something, but was too unfocused to care. Fear dominated his mind as he felt his leg muscles grow stiff, helpless to keep up with the tiny light in the distance.

**_Do not be afraid_,** a quiet voice said in his mind. **_You are safe here. Lie down and be at peace. Embrace the warmth of the darkness._**

Link felt his eyelids get heavy, the paranoia dissipating as his legs unfroze, relaxing to the point of giving out. Someone was yelling in the distance, but he just felt so good. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so carefree.

**_Everything will be all right. You do not have to leave just yet, do you? You could use some rest. Just lie down and be at peace._**

Link sunk to his knees, barely able to keep his head up. Where was he going again? Where was he before? It was just so nice here. _It must not be important if I can't remember_, he thought_. I guess I could wait a little while, just to take a nap here._

He wasn't sure why he was struggling to begin with. He deserved the rest, didn't he? After all, he was the one who saved the forest from the twilight. Just a few moments here couldn't hurt.

**_Give in to your body's needs. Relax, and bask in the warmth of—_**

A small object flew in front of him before it was struck with a black bolt of energy. Light flooded the area, the voice that had been gently lulling him shrieking in pain. Flames licked the ground as the spare oil he had spread in a pool, the fog almost jerking back from the sudden light source. The three triangles on his hand were glowing as brightly as they had when he'd first entered the Twilight, and Midna's shouts suddenly rang in his ears as he felt himself rushing back into reality.

"GET MOVING!" she screamed at him. "That fire won't last long. GO!"

His muscles weak, he lifted himself up off of the ground, sprinting through the empty field as his very life depended on it. He was terrified of how he had felt so powerless to whatever the fog was, and how he gave in so easily to its deception. The burning oil left a clear swath of land to the other side, but the fog was slowly creeping back in. He had maybe thirty seconds or so to run a hundred paces, which he would have done easily were it not for how drained he felt.

"Link, help! I'm lost!" he heard a voice to his left. _Colin. He couldn't be here in this fog, could he?_

"No, go away! Someone do something!" he heard Ilia scream.

Link couldn't keep going as he was. His muscles felt as if they were made of molasses, and he felt the fog's illusions beginning to creep in again, this time in the form of the cries of the children. Unless they were actually the cries of the children, and they were somewhere lost in the—

"No!" He shouted, fighting against his thoughts. "I know what this is! Be gone, demon! I'll not fall for your tricks!"

**_Give yourself to the darkness,_** the fog demanded.**_ Be at peace—_**

The fiercely glowing mark on his hand burst forth in a blinding light, striking out at the fog that threatened to close in on him. Another shriek ran through his mind, although it sounded far louder this time. The fog almost lifted entirely, and there were no more voices or noises that clouded his thoughts. His lantern sat glowing at the top of the small hill, right before the gates that led off towards the temple. _If only I'd been able to keep up with that monkey._

Breathless, he reached the top of the small hill, leaning over on to his knees as he gulped for air. Midna leapt from his shadow, her eye flashing lividly.

"You idiot! You've almost been killed _twice_ so far, and we haven't even reached the temple yet! Do you have any idea how close you were to letting that wraith get to you?"

"Wha… what's a… a wraith?" Link panted, trying to slow his breathing.

"A phantom from the Twilight that tricks and charms its victims through illusions… and then they are never heard from again." Even in her shadowy form he could see her frowning and glaring at him in disapproval. "I swear, it's as if you wanted to get taken by that thing! If I hadn't stepped in and thrown that oil of yours, then you probably would have curled up asleep right then!"

"Wait… that was you?" he asked, almost shocked. "I thought that… that you couldn't interact… with this world physically."

Her gaze softened slightly. "I can still use my magic, even if it is more draining on me here. And those Goddesses of yours seem to be helping, too. The fire hurt the wraith, but that blessing of yours was what did it in."

"So… it's dead?" he asked, hoping for the answer to be yes. He didn't know if he could go through that experience again, and come out sane. And this was the only way back from the temple, anyway.

"See for yourself." Midna pointed over her shoulder to the clearing, now clear of the fog that had blanketed the forest floor. A light mist remained, no longer the poisonous looking violet that it had been. He was almost hoping to see Ilia or Colin in the clearing, after hearing their voices in the fog. Then again, if they had been in his situation, too…

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. "Midna, you saved my life. Again. I… thank you."

She rolled her visible eye. "Just don't make it a habit, all right? You're supposed to be the hero here, remember?" Midna floated back in the direction of where they needed to go. "Besides, I still need your help. It'd be a while if I had to wait for the next 'hero chosen by the Goddesses,' you know."

Link grunted as he stood up to his full height. "I'll take that as a compliment." Walking over to his still lit lantern, Link snuffed out the flame to preserve what oil was left. "We might have another twenty minutes of fuel left in this thing."

"I doubt there's just going to be lit torches throughout the temple that no human's been in for probably a few decades." Midna scoffed. "You might want to set some things on fire if you get the chance. You know, for the light?" she amended quickly. "I mean, I wouldn't mind, but if you go sloshing burning oil around in a temple that's largely made of wood, you might not get to where you need to go, you know?"

Link gave a small smile at her assessment. "Well, at least I'm not trudging around in a fog that kills you. Shall we?"

"Here I thought we stay around here forever. Get a move on, Mr. Hero!"

Walking on through the gate, Link shuffled his gear and tried to calm his nerves, glad to be out of the darker part of the forest. He was still shaken from his experience, but at least he was alive.

The next clearing had a lot fewer trees, which also let in a considerable amount of light. It was around mid-afternoon at this point, but even so, Link felt fatigued. There wasn't really a way to keep track of time when the forest canopy is thick enough to blot out the sun, but after getting through the night as a wolf, entering the twilight, and now reaching the temple, it had to have been close to twenty hours at this point. The fact that he was running on adrenaline for much of that time didn't help.

Yawning, he walked on, taking a moment to enjoy the sunshine that he had at one point worried he would never see again. No deku babas were growing in the sunlight here, and those that he could hear seemed far off in the distance. That fog, the wraith, had promised warmth and peace? This was far more peaceful that those illusions could ever be.

Still, he was left wanting for more than just his thoughts, and his only companion was the twilit creature that was hiding in his shadow. Only bringing up his original questions of who she was, and why did he care? _Well, it makes for some conversation, damn it_, he thought. _If she doesn't say anything about it, then I've at least satisfied my curiosity._

"Hey, um… Midna?" he asked. His shadow rose from the ground suddenly, materializing into Midna's shadowy and glaring form.

"What is it now? Do you need me to hold your hand? Save you from the scary ladybugs?" she asked sarcastically.

"I was actually wondering if you wanted to… talk for a bit?"

Midna blinked, her sarcasm turning to confusion. "What's this about?"

"I'm just looking for conversation. You know, like friends do?"

She gave him a pensive stare. "And you think that we're friends?"

"Ouch," Link said with a frown. "I'd consider us acquaintances, at least. And you did save my life. Twice."

"So what?" she scoffed. "I just need you to get me what I need. Beyond that, you're just my servant, remember?"

"Well, _excuse_ me, princess." Link said exasperatedly, throwing up his hands as he brushed past her.

Midna was in front of him in a flash, searching his face. Her features changed from shock and… _fear, even?_… to one of barely contained rage.

"Do not… insult… me… she said through clenched teeth, her right fang clearly visible even as a shadow. "You don't know who I am. You have no idea what I can do to you. Don't push your luck, wolf boy."

"Well, why don't we start there then, huh? I _don't_ know who you are. Care to let me know?" he asked pointedly, his own anger flaring up.

"Someone who you shouldn't make an enemy out of. Beyond that, you don't _need_ to know," she said with a hiss.

"Fine. Be that way," he retorted, stomping forward again with a huff. She floated by his side, still glaring at him with her fists clenched. _Honestly, why did you think that was a good idea?_ he asked himself. _All you managed to do was get yourselves pis—_

He stopped his thought short as he saw the temple path leading to the tree that the temple was inside of. The great tree, thought to be a deku tree, was said to be hollowed out for past rituals, and the dekus of the forest used to worship inside of it. The branches were massive, probably reaching several hundred feet into the air, and the trunk itself was nearly as wide. It was not the tree's majesty that gave him pause, however.

A wolf, golden in color, sat at the base of the path that led to the tree. And it was growling at him.

He drew his shield and sword, ready to fend off the apparent guardian. Midna still floated at his side, perplexed at his movement.

"What, you see a squirrel or something? You know that I can't be hurt by your weapons—"

"Midna. There's a wolf in front of us." He said, shield raised. The wolf approached him slowly, walking into the clearing and beginning to circle around him.

She looked in the direction he was looking, her expression unchanged. "I don't see anything. That wraith of yours still messing you up?"

"Can't you see it? It's trying to circle us, right- Goddesses!" He cried as the wolf leapt into the air, his sword extended towards it as he protected himself with the shield. The impact never came, as he suddenly felt himself pulled away from the clearing as if he was being warped.

Lowering the shield from his face, he found himself in a misty field, an almost ghostly white light illuminating his surroundings. _Where am I now?_ he wondered, clueless as to what was going on. The complete stillness was what unsettled him, though. It was so silent that his own breathing seemed loud… until he heard the wolf's breathing behind him.

He whirled around, sword in hand… and was now facing some… undead warrior, its ancient armor cracked and broken as it stared at him from one glowing red eye, the other dim in the skull's socket. Whatever the spirit was, it seemed to appraise him for a moment, looking him up and down. Behind it stood a castle of some kind, looking very similar to what he imagined Hyrule Castle to look like. _Where is this? Am I dead?_

The monster readied itself, taking a defensive stance.

Link was having a strange day, but he was damned if he would die to this thing after he had just gotten to the temple. With sword raised, he wordlessly ran at his opponent, attempting to strike at the monsters head—

The skeleton deflected his blow with its shield, knocking him back with a kick and then smashing its shield into his stomach hard enough to throw him into the air.

Link landed hard on his back, gasping as he got the wind knocked out of him. He shut his eyes at the inevitable strike to follow… only for it to never come. An almost disappointed voice reached his ears, hard and commanding.

"A sword has no strength unless the hand who wields it has courage." The voice said, coming from the direction of the skeleton. "You may be destined to become the hero of legend… but your current power would disgrace the proud green of the hero's tunic you wear."

Link glared at the skeleton. Who was this skeleton to say that against him? Sure, he wasn't that skilled in using a sword, but he was one of the best swordsmen in Ordon. _As if that means anything, apparently._ He stood back up gingerly, no longer on the defensive.

"You must use your courage to seek power… and find it you must. Only then will you become the hero for whom this world despairs." the skeleton intoned, its jaw moving in tandem with its words. "If you do find true courage, and you wish to save Hyrule from the horrors it now faces… only then will you be worthy of the teachings I shall pass on."

The skeleton strode over, indicating for him to do the same. This was no ordinary spirit he was dealing with, it seemed. And if it wanted to help him, all the better.

"In fighting your opponent, you must seek out the weaknesses in his position. A poorly handled sword, or ill-fitted armor that will hinder his movement. But when you do have them at an advantage, never hesitate. Finish them before they have a chance to strike back, and show no mercy." The skeleton nodded towards him, shuffling its apparel. "Now then, come at me."

The skeleton raised its sword ritualistically, waiting for Link's response. _"Ancient duelists used to cross their swords before battle,"_ Rusl once said to him. _Well, can't hurt to try._

Raising his sword as well, Link raised his sword in the same style, swinging forth at the same time as the spirit. Their blades clashed with a distinctive _cling!, _signifying the start of the duel. The skeleton leapt back into a defensive position as it had for their first encounter, but this time its stance seemed different. It looked as though its shield was not protecting enough of its chest-plate, and its sword did not seem held in the same way as it had been.

Striking forward, Link drove his blade towards the skeleton's side, causing it to get knocked backwards in a daze. He struck out again, and it fell back in a heap, just as he had been before the fight.

_Show no mercy, _the skeleton had said. Jumping into the air, he drove his sword into the spirit's abdomen, causing it to flinch as if it were flesh. Stepping off of it, the skeleton rose again, unharmed by his display. It nodded at him in approval, the seemingly broken helmet and moss covered armor creaking with it.

"Remember this skill well, for it can finish a battle long before it would run its course. There are other skills that can be taught, only for those with the blood of the hero and the sublime beast. Grow powerful. Test your courage. And when you feel as though you need another skill to overcome the obstacles that you face… you shall find me."

"Hang on, what is this? Who are you?" Link asked, speaking to the spirit for the first time. The skeleton seemed to ignore him, as his surroundings started to dissolve around him.

"A sword has no strength unless the hand who wields it has courage… remember these words well. Until we meet again…" the spirit said as the world faded into a blinding white…

* * *

"Ugh, you just have to lie down in the forest, don't you? Midna said angrily towards "the hero's" motionless form. "You can't make it a hundred feet to get to the temple. No, you start ranting about an invisible wolf, and then fall back on your rump, sound asleep. What kind of a hero are you supposed to be?"

She was frustrated with her state of being in this light world. All she could do (without hurting him, anyway) was float and sputter, at least until he woke up again. The golden symbols of the Triforce shone brightly on his hand, the blessing that he had received from his Goddesses. _Who are these light dwellers to receive their blessing, while we had to suffer for so long? _she thought bitterly, waiting impatiently for his awakening. _He has no idea what he is supposed to do, and he can hardly save himself. If this is the best the Goddesses can do in choosing their champion, then they deserve for their lands to fall to that usurper._

Midna looked back down to the green clad Ordonian in disdain, seeing his chest barely rising and falling. _Whatever. As long as he can help me get those Fused Shadows that I need, I don't care if he can't buckle his belt in the morning._

She was still angry with how close she had come to revealing something about herself to him over such a small insult, some nobody light dweller that doesn't know what he's dealing with. _Princess. Ha. I could come up with a hundred ones better than that._

She shook her head at the thought, a rueful laugh escaping her lips. _Just another thing to deal with before I get back to my world… which is why I need this lazy hero to get up and help me get through that temple and get the power I need!_

She floated back over to his face, getting a better look at him. He was probably eighteen, maybe nineteen years old. No facial scars, could maybe use a shave, but overall the light dweller was fairly attractive, even by a twili's standards. _At least I don't have to order around an ugly hero_, she thought with a small smile. _Imagine if I had to follow around someone ugly_ and _stupid_.

She froze as his eyes suddenly shot open, flashing a brilliant gold for a moment before turning back to their natural blue. _Did I just imagine that?_ she wondered, shaking her head at the image. She closed her eyes, but the golden eyes remained. Whatever it was, something had happened to him in the few minutes he was out.

"Finally! Are you awake yet?" she asked with her arms crossed, floating a short distance away from him. "I mean, I've known some lazy people, but you just fell back standing up! Is that how you light dwellers take a nap, just fall over wherever?"

"I… I saw a spirit, Midna. It spoke of me… and becoming a hero." He shook his head, getting up from the ground. "How long was I out?"

"Two days," she said, deadpan.

"What?!" he yelled, jumping to his feet and eyeing the temple. "That… that can't be!"

"Your right, it can't. You were on the ground there for five minutes." she giggled, even more so after she saw the look on his face. "What? The look on your face was priceless!"

He seemed angry for a moment, but then he too began to chuckle. "Heh, all right. I'll give you that… hey, Midna?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry if I… hurt your feelings back there. I didn't know that it would be a touchy subject for you. Can you forgive me?" he asked plainly.

Midna searched his expression, surprised that he actually seemed genuinely sorry, even though she had been the one to provoke him. _Where did this attitude come from? Or had he been like this before?_

She pretended to think about it for a moment, looking for a reaction from him. He only seemed to anticipate the answer, not faltering in his resolve as he looked at her.

She finally gave him a nod. "All right, wolfie. I'll forgive you this time. Now, are you done napping, or can we get going to that temple that's just ahead?"

The Ordonian took his sword off of the ground and suddenly gave it a few practiced looking swings, flourishing it as he placed it back in its sheath.

"Ready when you are, Midna," he said with a smirk, starting the short walk to the temple's entrance.

_Something has changed_, Midna realized. No longer did he have the weariness that had been in his voice, or the hesitation that he had shown previously. No, what he was now showing was confidence. Courage, and confidence. _You don't just gain those things after you fall over, do you?_ she thought, looking back to the hand the Triforce had shone through the gauntlet he wore, now simply another gloved hand.

She ducked back into his shadow, where she swore she could hear him _humming_ up above. _Oh, Midna, you're not curious about a light dweller, are you?_ she chided herself. _You're not sticking around here after you have what you need, so why do you want to know why Mr. Hero over here seems more 'heroic?'_ She recalled the words of their previous argument, about how he had wanted to talk… and she shot him down. Hard.

"Hypocrite." she muttered to herself. Still, he was just a light dweller here, and as he said himself, he _did_ owe her for saving his life twice already. _So why do you still feel bad about it? _

Indecisive for a moment, she simply stayed in his shadow as he approached the doors to the temple, the ancient carved wood somehow acting as both a warning and an invitation to enter into the unknown. _He hasn't really done anything yet,_ she thought with a smirk. _Just let him get what you need first, then you can worry about whether or not he deserves an apology._

The doors to the temple opened, and the unlikely pair stepped forward. _All right, Mr. Hero, let's see what you can do._

* * *

_Cut out a little bit here, particularly in the end. Feel that it might be a little better to include in the next chapter, and not rush Midna's apology. I know a few of you guys might be disappointed by that, though. Still, I'll make sure to get the next chapter written faster; certainly faster than last time, anyway._

_Until next time! :)_


	5. Chapter 5: Trials of the Forest

_As it is currently 12/22/12 when I'm writing this, it means that I am apparently one of the many survivors of the predicted apocalypse (though more than likely the Mayans just said "We've made the calender up to this point. We'll have time to fix it later"). And if your reading this, it means you probably did as well. Congratulations!_

_This chapter took several days for me, and while a few cuts were made here and there and I experimented with the POV for both Midna and Link, I feel pretty good about this one, even if it took a while to get to you guys. I am writing two stories at the moment, but fortunately there's a break until mid-January for me. I do hope to have another chapter out before then._

_**12/29/12: **Fixed a few errors here and there, particularly in pronoun confusion. Thanks, Sir Pudding!_

_Here's a shoutout to Sir Pudding, Sokka-Mushroom, Juli Beawr, geminimimi, and senpen banka for reviewing the last chapter. Thanks for the continued feedback and support!_

* * *

Chapter 5: Trials of the Forest

The difference in lighting was instantaneous, causing Link to squint as soon as the door swung inwards. Sure enough, Midna was right. The temple was almost unnaturally dark, complete blackness throughout aside from the light that spilled in from the open doorway and a few stray glittering beams that came down from the ceiling… or canopy, seeing as trees seemed to be growing inside of the tree as well, tall trunks that reached up beyond where the eye could see. Not too far, given how dark it was.

Link stooped down and brought his lantern out, taking the flint and striker that had been attached to the side, lighting the remaining oil in the lamp. The small flame cast a flickering light against the surroundings, a candle against a sea of black. Cautious, he stepped forward as the doors closed behind him, the ancient wood creaking shut as they strained on their hinges.

He still wasn't sure where his boost of confidence came from. Link was hardly aware of it himself, other than in how he wouldn't have dared to venture into this temple beforehand. Whatever had occurred during his encounter with the spirit must have fueled his reserves as well as his courage, as he felt invigorated, excited even; if it weren't for the possible dangers lurking in the dark he would have whooped aloud and ran for all his strength could carry him.

The flickering lantern lit only a small area around him, but it was enough to see forward. There were thick mosses and grasses on the floor, and the chattering of deku babas echoed in the chamber. A few torch sconces were still intact, and so, following Midna's advice, he promptly set them alight.

The mosses and grasses seemed stranger now that they were revealed in the more widespread lighting. Rustling noises could be heard as well, the plants themselves seeming to react to the torchlight. _Best to avoid them when I can,_ Link thought.

Midna sprung out of his shadow again, her form all but invisible in the light.

"Well? What did I tell you?" she asked, her glowing eye appearing eerily disembodied as she floated before him.

He shrugged. "Makes sense, after all. Who would be here to keep any fires going, anyway? The monkeys?"

"He he! I just imagined that." Midna giggled. "We saw how good they are with lanterns already, didn't we?"

He remembered. Link shuddered at the thought, but Midna continued as if she didn't see his reaction or didn't care.

"Come to think of it, where are the monkeys, anyway? You'd think that they be here somewhere, seeing as they made—"

_Thunk!_

A small fruit hit near Link's feet, startling him as he was instantly on guard, searching for the source. A monkey, the same monkey that had taken his lantern, was barking and making calls on a branch of one of the trees.

Midna looked up at the offending animal, annoyed by its display.

"Well? That's the monkey that left you for the wraith, and wasted all of your lantern oil. If I were you, I'd want some payback."

The monkey whined at him, almost as if she were apologizing for the earlier event. She jumped up and down on her branch, waving one of her hands towards herself in a circling motion.

"Oh, what is this?" Midna said, a smirk creeping onto her face. "It looks like she wants you to follow her. Still trust it after she left you in the fog?"

Link grimaced at the thought, but he pressed on. "Well, there's nothing we can really be sure about in here. At least she hasn't been trying to get us killed."

"You mean get _you_ killed," Midna corrected him. "After all, you're the only one who can be hurt by these light creatures." He swore there was a hint of smugness in her words.

"Fair enough," Link said as he walked on, avoiding a few suspicious patches of grass and vines on the ground. The monkey chattered as she jumped up and down, leaping from one branch to another, becoming faint in the darkness and then appearing back in the range of his lantern light again. A small trail became visible on the floor, stone and wooden slabs forming a dilapidated stairway, finally reaching a wooden slab in the wall… or trunk… with similar intricate carvings as the ones on the door. The monkey plopped down in front of them, looking at Link expectantly.

"Well, Mr. Important Hero," Midna prodded. "Open it."

A groove in the floor indicated that the tree slab was meant to slide or roll into the wall, like an oversized sliding door. With a grunt, he pressed against the "door" until it gave, falling into the groove. Rolling it aside, Link stepped through the doorway into the room beyond, his lantern readied as the light sources from the room behind him were blocked once again well the slab rolled back. The new room echoed with the rocking of the slab, and strange rustling could be heard above. _Whatever it is, it isn't a deku baba,_ he thought.

The lantern revealed an oily substance lie before him in what looked like a trough. With a flickering flame and little to lose, he picked a stick up from the ground and opened the lantern's latch, allowing the flame to spread to the wooden object. He doused the lantern before plunging it in the oil, refilling it. Relighting the lantern with the burning stick, he decided to light the trough as well for good measure. The fire spread quickly in its container, spreading out into rows and rows as the trough separated, filling the room with a blazing light. Link watched as the smoke drifted upwards into the apparent canopy above… and found the source of the rustling.

A nest of ungodly sized spiders hung from above, their bodies half as wide as a man was tall and their legs easily four feet long for each, their black and white striped pattern forming an almost skull shape on their abdomens. Link remembered hearing horror stories around the fire as a child, about the monsters that lurked deep in the forest. Skulltulas, they were called. _Why couldn't the temple just be inhabited by the monkeys? _he thought with a shudder.

Midna whistled. "Wow, those are some big spiders. Probably not a good idea to get caught in a web here, huh?"

The monkey they were with chirped in apparent agreement and dashed forward once more. The chamber split into three directions at its end, the middle and foremost door appearing oddly chained and sealed away. A pedestal sat in the center, an oddly "L" shaped indentation for where a now long gone object once rested.

The monkey that led them barked and chirped at him, pointing to the door on the right. Midna giggled again.

"Aw, look at you being led around by a monkey? Next thing you know, you'll be taking directions from a squirrel!" she laughed.

"Well, unless you want me to climb a tree to get to the spiders' nest up there, I don't really have any other ideas at the moment," Link grumbled, pushing the wooden slab into the groove as he had done before, wheeling it aside.

At this, he was almost blinded, as a sudden onslaught of daylight struck him in full force. Midna gave a hiss of discomfort as she ducked back into his shadow, her eyes shut tight.

"Could have given us some warning, huh? The little brat." Midna complained. Link could only agree as he opened his eyes blearily, squinting towards his surroundings. The temple was apparently spread out over at least two such great trees, it seemed, as the door led off onto a carved branch connecting to a second tree, albeit smaller in appearance.

The monkey seemed unfazed, simply running onwards as the carved branch narrowed until she reached a gap. A lone rope bridge spanned what was certainly a lethal drop, the only thing that connected the two sides of the temple. And it looked rickety.

The monkey ran on all fours, scurrying over the bridge with ease. She sat on the opposite end, beckoning for Link to follow. _Great_.

"Well, here goes nothing," he said as he walked forward, taking his first step onto the thirty planked bridge. The bridge's reaction to his weight was immediate, groaning and straining with each hesitant step he took. The support ropes looked old and worn, and were too high for anyone to really hold on to. It was like trying to maintain your balance on a rolling log; the more you moved in one direction, the harder it was to keep balance in the other. The only solution then was to simply make his way across as fast as he could without—

A larger monkey jumped down from one of the branches of the opposite tree, barking and hollering. A curious looking crest rested on its head as it made gestures towards him, raising a rather hefty looking boomerang. The smaller monkey shrieked at Link, waving her arms faster. Suddenly, Link understood what was happening.

"Oh, damn—"

"RUN!" Midna yelled at him, encouraging him to sprint across. He was only halfway across, and the boards felt like they were about to give with each footfall. Even still, the biggest danger was the monkey's boomerang as it was released towards him, flying towards the support ropes as if it had a mind of its own.

_SNAP!_

He was still five boards short of the edge when the ropes gave way. With a yell, he plunged downwards with the bridge, latching onto a loose plank in desperation. The plank gave as well, and fell even further, struggling for purchase on the old wood.

Suddenly, he stopped. _Thank the Goddesses_, he thought gratefully as the ropes held his weight. Even so, he was now eight planks down, and would have to make a jump for the next few.

Midna sprung from his shadow on the bridge boards, floating by his side and glaring.

"Well now, Mr. Hero. Way to go."

He rolled his eyes as he strained himself upwards, the sword and shield doing little to help him in his endeavor.

"How was I supposed to know there was a monkey fight here?" he asked as he made a leap for the next plank, finding purchase on the wood closest to the rope.

"Does it matter now?" she asked with a frown. "It looks to me like you just lost your only way back to the rest of the temple… and society as we know it."

He groaned. He hadn't thought about that. "I could have fallen, you know. At least this is better than that."

"Yeah, your current situation is a vast improvement," she said with a sly grin, vanishing once again.

She was right, though. He was effectively stranded on this side of the temple until he could find a way back over, and it didn't look like he'd be crossing back where he came from. With a grunt, Link hoisted himself up another plank, and another. Climbing the bridge was like climbing an awkward ladder, but as long as he didn't move too quickly the ropes didn't jostle too badly.

With one last effort, he reached the top of the cliff. He was glad that he'd been raised as a goat herder in this situation; wrangling the goats of Ordon took a considerable amount of arm strength, which certainly helped him here. Even though he was certain he would have made it just using his arms, he was grateful for being able to use the other planks as footholds.

The small monkey sat near the cliff's (_or branch's_, he thought) edge, waiting for him. He gave her a pensive stare; he knew she wasn't at fault, but that didn't help the fact that she was always involved in his predicaments. The monkey made a few quiet sounds, her body language showing shame and discomfort.

"Aw, is the little monkey sorry?" Midna asked in a baby-voice, even though the monkey was unable to hear her from his shadow. "Well, tough luck! We're trying to get to the power in the temple, and this little munchkin is slowing us down. She's lucky I want to save energy; otherwise I'd give her a piece of my mind," she growled.

"I'm getting tired of this too, Midna. Still, we don't really have a choice, do we?" Link asked rhetorically.

"Sure we do! Tell her to get lost!" she grumbled. The monkey jumped up and down again, motioning for them to follow. With a resigned sigh, Link continued to do so.

Upon being led to the temple's next section and entrance, the trio was plunged back into darkness, though it was less severe given cracks and cutouts in the temple "walls" and canopy. What they now faced was the overpowering scent of monkey feces intermingled with rotting wood, strong enough to make Link's eyes water.

The monkey that led them was silent, creeping along the floor as if she was trying to be stealthy. Link was unsure of the small ape's intentions, but if she was being cautious, he decided it was best if he was as well.

Carved totems littered the large room, strange faces and patterns carved into them as they were stood in the room at random. A few scraping sounds could be heard, as well as various monkey noises. _Must be near their nest, or troop, whatever it was called_, Link thought.

He stopped. Torchlight was clearly visible in the room, and there was no evidence that showed the monkeys were smart enough to start a fire. That meant there were bulbins here, or some other animal capable of making a flame.

A crumbled totem lay fallen in the room, easily large enough for him to hide behind. His lantern doused, he crept forward and rested up against the totem, daring to take a peak over it to the possible threat beyond. Sure enough, a quartet of bulbins, their rags and head-wraps the same as the ones he had killed in Ordon, sat around a fire, a cage of monkeys behind them as they cackled and chattered in their strange tongue. _So that's what the monkey was going on about,_ Link thought. _She wants me to rescue her friends. But where's the big one?_

He scanned the room for the large animal, eventually finding it resting atop one of the several totems by the fire. For whatever reason, the bulbins were not interested in it, and it even seemed to be enjoying the fact that the other monkeys were caged up. _Something wasn't right,_ Link thought. _The large monkey should be caring for the others, especially if it's their leader._ Still, if it was something he had to deal with, then he would fight it, even though it might make the other monkeys angry at him. Of course, there were still the bulbins to deal with, but—

The crest on top of the large monkey's head moved slightly. He shook his head to try to clear his vision, as he swore it must have been his imagination. Sure enough though, the crest moved again, ever so slightly. He was a good fifty paces from it, but he could see it move all the same.

Link was struck with an epiphany. He could take care of the fiends and the monkey without much of a fight after all, as he still had the slingshot in his pack. "Midna, could you get me the slingshot in my pack?"

"Not if that's how you're going to ask for it. Really, you expect me to just carry your stuff around, don't you? I'm doing you a—"

"All right, all right. Could you _please_ get me my slingshot?" he asked, annoyed. The slingshot and pouch of deku seeds materialized in his hands.

"You're welcome," she said, grinning from his shadow. "Ha, ten rupees says you can't knock the monkey off the totem pole!"

Link loaded his slingshot, enjoying the playful competition in what could become a very dangerous situation. "You're on."

Taking aim, he released the hard seed from the sling, its trajectory on course for the monkey's head. The projectile connected with a satisfying crack, hitting the monkey square on the crest. This caused the monkey to shriek, clutching at the top of its head as it felt where the seed struck it, its boomerang forgotten as it fell to the floor.

The bulbins below started, jumping up and putting out their fire, leaving only the beams of sunlight from the openings in the walls to fill the room. Drawing his sword and shield as Midna took his slingshot back, Link carefully made his way into the room, straining against the darkness that now fell over much of the room. The bulbins didn't make any noises, and as brutal as they could be, they weren't stupid.

The monkey he had struck was still groaning up on its perch, but another object fell to the floor, made visible by the light beam. An insect, like those that had caused the Twilight to fall over Faron Woods, lay on the floor for a moment before dissolving into the darkness. _I thought that they only existed in the Twilight?_ Link thought. _Still, I haven't seen them otherwise, so maybe—_

A club swung at him, barely missing his head as he ducked under the blow. Acting on instinct, he surged his sword upwards, finding its mark as the bulbin in front of him cried out before slumping to the floor. All of the monkeys started chattering in their cages, jumping up and down as if they were spectators to a fight. _Come to think of it, they were_.

Link felt like he was in a game of cat and mouse, hunting while he was being hunted. The other bulbins may have been separated from each other, but if he was found in the light of the room, he wouldn't last long against three at once.

A rustling sound came from some distance behind him. He turned towards the source, only to get knocked off his feel as a club connected with his shield arm. Link hit the floor with a gasp of pain, rolling to his side to avoid an inevitable second strike. Even though he was essentially fighting in darkness, his enemy knew where he was, and as such he was at a severe disadvantage. He tried to lift his shield, but the muscles in his arm screamed in protest, and his shoulder didn't feel great either. Desperate, he swung blindly, catching something in his swing as he heard his enemy grunt, his sword ricocheting backwards. _Must've connected with its club_, he thought, and swung to the right of where he had, this time finding a far softer target. Slashing twice for good measure, he felt his opponent give as the body fell to the floor. _Two down, two to go._

He was wounded, and couldn't see his attackers. He made his way to the beam of light in the center to try to see his surroundings more clearly. Whatever they were doing, he didn't want to wait in the dark to find out.

It turned out he didn't have to. Both of the remaining bulbins charged out at once, their sudden cries of their charge echoing through the chamber. Surprised, Link was just able to avoid the first club before he was forced to block the second, his shield arm feeling as if it were on fire.

"Midna! Any help here?" he called out; now that his foes were facing him directly there was no need for secrecy.

"It looks like you've got things under control," she said as she yawned lazily from his shadow. He sidestepped one of his attackers, only to have his sword blocked by the second. The goblin-like creatures got right in his face, snarling at him through their facewraps menacingly. Link was getting fatigued, and fast. At this rate he wouldn't be able to keep up with their attacks for another fifteen seconds or so.

"Midna?!"

"Ask nicely…"

"Oh, for the love of… could I _please_ get some help here?" he asked again, almost begging at this point. A kick to his right leg dropped him to one knee, at the mercy of his foes. Midna sprung up from his shadow, her red and yellow eye slanted in what only could be a wicked grin.

"Let's have some fun, shall we?" she asked, forming a dark ball of energy in front of her. The bulbins ceased their attack to turn to the sudden object, during which Link struck out against the one closest to him. The bulbin fell as the second one turned to face him again, and just as it raised its club it stopped suddenly, becoming black particulates as the insect had on the floor. The club dropped from its fingers as it ceased to be, traveling into the darkness of the room.

The monkeys barked and cheered in their cages, clapping their hands together and rattling their bars.

Panting, Link stood gingerly as he tested his weight on the leg that was kicked, finding it to be simply bruised. His arm felt like a different story. He was _definitely_ going to feel that in the morning.

Link glared at Midna. "You know you could have joined in a few moments earlier, right?"

"Well, it looked like you had it covered. Watching you try to fight in the dark was actually pretty entertaining until you got knocked to the ground." she grinned impishly, looking him over. "Although you could have just asked for your lantern. I might have even lit it for you, and you could've avoided fighting in the dark all together."

Link knuckled his forehead with his good arm. _Why didn't he think of that sooner?_

"But it's all over and done with now, so there's no use complaining about it." she continued, looking around the chambers as Link readied himself, striking a flame back in his lantern. "Ha, looks like you owe me ten rupees, Mr. Hero!" she said, gesturing to the large monkey still on the totem, looking back and forth between Link and the caged monkeys.

With a few barks and sounds, the male hopped over to the caged monkeys and, with a deft punch, smashed the wooden bars apart. The monkeys poured out into freedom as they whooped and chattered excitedly, crowding around the large one as he drummed his chest with his fists.

The small monkey that had been with them screeched excitedly, moving over to the totem pole the male had been on, picking something up. Making small monkey sounds, she hobbled back over to Link with the boomerang in her hand, chattering her teeth excitedly.

"Well, goody, you saved the monkeys and they give you a gift for your trouble. How nice," Midna commented, looking at the object in question. The small monkey gave an eager nod as Link accepted the gift. The odd boomerang was pure white with a golden handle and centerpiece. A sign of three curved lines, the ancient symbol for wind, was engraved in it.

Link showed the object to Midna, who levitated it in front of her. Her eye lit up with delighted surprise, earning a curious look from him.

"Well? What is it?" he asked. If Midna was excited about something, it had to be good.

"Looks like you scored here, Mr. Hero. This… umm…" she looked the device over, as if trying to discover its name.

"Boomerang." he offered.

She nodded. "Right. This… boomerang… has been blessed with the powers of one of your Great Fairies, giving it power over the winds!" she said excitedly. "I did bet you ten rupees earlier, but I think this would do fine," she said with a grin.

Even in his pain, Link gave a smile. "Right, but you can't even use the boomerang in the light realm, remember? You'll be drained of your magic too quickly."

She gave a sigh. "All right, I guess I'll hang onto it for you. But you still owe me on that bet!" Summoning her magic, Midna caused the enchanted boomerang to disappear, vanishing into his shadow along with it.

Grunting, Link moved about the rest of the room, trying to find another way through to get to the other side. He did still have to get back to the temple, after all. Finding nothing but the bodies of the bulbins and their burnt out fire, he sighed, turning back to the entrance… and stopped, a wide smile on his face. Apparently, the bulbins liked money as much as humans did.

"Hey Midna, I think I've got your debt covered," he said, grinning like a fool at the heap of rupees at his feet.

* * *

_Action, adventure, and heaps of treasure_, Midna thought. _Not to mention the power that I'm looking for. Why don't people raid these old temples more often?_

The two of them had made their way back to the entrance of the second tree, still confronted with the previous problem of the bridge being out. The monkeys, miraculously, decided to climb the rope across, some dangling upside down in an apparent effort to swing Link across. He protested at first, but seeing as he didn't really have any other options, he took a leap of faith (literally) and into the monkey's grasp. Despite their surprisingly strong grips and throws, Midna could easily see that he didn't want to rely on a few monkeys again for help across a deadly drop. Not that she could blame him.

The pedestal in the middle had been perfectly designed for the boomerang to fit, although once the weapon had been placed there the opposite door had opened, and not the apparent destination they were hoping for. Midna could sense the power of the Fused Shadow behind the door, but its precise location unclear. Still, they would hopefully be able to opened the sealed door soon enough.

The next room was filled with the "deku baba" plants, but the hero seemed to make short work of them. The near deafening levels of the chattering of the plants diminished little by little as he made his way through the almost marshy area, pools of water collecting from cracks in the tree's walls. It was after this progression when things began to get interesting.

The duo was confronted with a third tree, a strange bridge contraption with multiple propellers, ropes, and pulleys attached to it. Link seemed puzzled for a moment, as the bridge… or platform… only extended around a fourth of the way across the much larger gap.

Midna picked up on his hesitation. It wasn't that hard, after all.

"So, Mr. Hero, you stumped yet?" she asked, letting a hint of her knowing what to do creep into her voice.

He frowned in thought for a moment, looking at the pulleys and propellers. "It looks like the platform is powered by those propellers, but there isn't nearly enough wind right now to get them going."

"Very good, wolfie!" she chided him. "Now, I wonder what strange, magical device that we just picked up that could be able to hold power over the winds?" she suggested, her words dripping with sarcasm. Honestly, did she really have to hold his hand through everything?

He nodded. "Easy enough. Though could we skip on the "please" business? Last time that happened I took a kick to the leg."

"You wouldn't have had you said "please" the first time," she retorted, allowing a mischievous grin to appear on her face.

"And if I forget to do so in battle I could end up dead, and you would have to wait for another hero to come along," he said, a sly grin crossing his face. "I have no intention of dying, but if I do die, I don't want it to be because I forgot my manners when there's a club or sword swinging at my head."

Midna's grin quickly fell to a scowl, but she couldn't argue with his logic, for once. He _did_ have a point. "Fine. One more time, and then I'll drop it… for this temple, anyway."

He nodded again with a small smile of relief. "All right then, Midna. May I _please_ have the boomerang?"

"Knock yourself out," she said as she summoned it. "Just not literally, you know?"

"Thanks."

Taking the boomerang, her servant threw it into the air at the nearest propeller. Amazingly, a gust of wind sprung up, causing the propeller blades to spin at a rapid pace, drawing the rope in on the pulley. The device returned to his hand, a similar look of amazement appearing on their respective faces.

"This is incredible," he said reverently, taking the boomerang and tossing it at the other propellers, smiling openly as the device moved back and forth between them as if it had a mind of its own.

"See, I told you it was valuable," Midna said, unable to suppress a grin of her own. "This thing could probably help against those creatures you keep running into as well. It might not be able to hurt them too much, but you could certainly blow them around a lot."

"Good enough," he said, holding onto the sacred item as the gusts of wind carried them over the chasm. The door here was less ornate than the others had been, seemingly unused in comparison to the others that the monkeys had been through.

The two of them pushed the door slab aside, revealing another great chamber. This chamber, however, held both more light and a greater danger.

"Goddesses, look at the size of that one," Link breathed, readying the boomerang and keeping his weakened shield arm at his side. Midna had to agree. The deku baba in question was nearly ten feet tall, and had a maw that was easily four feet across. _That thing could probably swallow a man whole,_ she thought. _Let's just hope Mr. Hero here doesn't try anything stupid._

"Well, no need to try and fight that thing head on," he said as he drew the boomerang backwards, releasing it along a path headed straight for the mammoth's stem. A resounding **_slice!_** echoed in the room as the plant toppled over like a ripened sunflower head, revealing a small alcove behind it… and a carved wooden chest.

Smiling, he walked over toward the chest's direction, ignoring the smaller carnivorous plants on the opposing ends of the rooms. They were rooted in one spot, no matter how hard they tried otherwise.

Midna thought she saw movement from the downed plant as he passed it, but couldn't tell. It may have simply been twitching in its death throes for all she knew.

The young man reached the chest, and, with a kick to the ancient lid, pried it open, a smile of success on his features. In the chest lay a large, ornate key, as well as some old bottles of liquid and a few unreadable scrolls and diagrams.

"Well, that was almost too eas—"

His sentence was cut off as the large plant suddenly leapt at his voice, going for the vibrations in the air. It managed to snap its head entirely around him, a surprised cry of pain easily heard as Midna could only watch with a hint of fear and worry. _Okay, he was essentially eaten just then, but his Goddesses wouldn't let him down just like that, would they?_

A sword appeared through the flesh of the plant, and again. The monster's jaw relaxed as the battered hero fell out of its maw, shaken and coughing as he held his bleeding side.

"Well… that didn't quite turn out how I'd hoped," he said with a weak laugh that quickly turned into a pained grimace. "Damned teeth punctured through the chain mail."

Midna floated over to him, looking him over. The carnivorous plant's digestive juices covered him, but given the rate of the bleeding from his side being slowly digested was the least of his problems.

"Idiot," she muttered, but there wasn't much time for insults. "Do you have any medicine, or bandage wraps?"

"I… thought I saw some bottles of things in that chest over there," he said wearily. "Could always take a look."

The "hero" hobbled over to the chest again, searching through. Several bottles lay before them, two filled with a brackish liquid, one empty, and one filled with a viscous red substance. Midna recognized the last bottle.

"Hey, that's an old healing potion," she said, pointing to the red fluid. "If you drink that, it should help your wounds recover."

"Really? And how would you know that?" the Ordonian asked, looking perplexed.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess you've never seen one before, but the recipe hasn't really changed since they first found how to make it, and I doubt they would try to fake one in a temple offering chest. What do you have to lose?"

"My life," he grimaced, still holding his chest. Even so, he reached for the vial, uncorking it with his right hand as he held it with his wounded arm. He gave it a questioning look one last time before he brought it to his lips, taking a full drink. Of course, she failed to mention that the potions generally tasted terrible. He wound up coughing, but managed to not spill any of the liquid.

"Ugh, this is…" he trailed off, a look of surprise crossing his features as he looked at the vial again. "Hey, I feel something."

The Ordonian checked the holes in his shirt, separating the cloth to peer at his wounds, the punctures no longer bleeding. He took the rest of the precious liquid and drank it down as well, grimacing in disgust but giving Midna a weak smile of thanks all the same.

"Better?" Midna asked.

He nodded. "Better. It looks like we've got the key now. Time to unseal that door… and hopefully find my friends. There were bulbins here, after all."

Midna cursed inwardly. She'd all but forgotten about his other motivation for being here. "Right. They could still be here. It might be possible that they didn't come here at all though."

He frowned. "I don't know where else they could have gone. If they were taken to Hyrule, I would have no idea where to look."

"Well then, Mr. Hero, time is of the essence. The sooner we get that power, the sooner we can be on our way to finding your friends." _And the other Fused Shadows_, she thought.

After taking the other bottles and washing himself in the pooled water, Midna and the Ordonian made their way back over to the center chamber again, pausing once more in front of the center chamber door.

"All right, here goes." Taking the key, he positioned it in the door's lock, turning it as he did so. The great chains gave way as the door lock unwound, falling to the floor. A propeller at the top of the door indicated that it was also powered by the boomerang, so taking the device he aimed a gust of wind at the sealing mechanism as well.

The great door groaned and shuddered as it separated from its resting place, rolling to the side as ropes and pulleys operated it. As soon as the propellers for the door stopped, the door slid back into place, effectively sealing them inside. _Great_, Midna thought. _No turning back now._

A foul, rotten smell reached them as they reached the chamber beyond, a circular room with an altar at the opposite end. A few cracks here and there in the ceiling allowed for more light, but the Ordonian went for the old torches that lined the room in a ceremonial style, lighting them one by one. A pool of rather ominous looking water lay before the altar steps.

"Well, is the power here?" he asked her, eyeing the altar.

Midna sensed her surroundings, but found the Fused Shadow was not in the altar, but below it. The source was coming from the pool.

"It looks like the power is in the reflection pool," Midna said, searching it. "I hope you brought your swim wear—"

The water splashed in front of them, two very large deku babas springing from the waters. Droplets hit the floor around them, hissing as they touched the floor.

"Damn, best not to go swimming, then," the green clad hero said, bringing out his shield and sword while he kept the lit lantern at his side.

The carnivorous plants lunged for him, large enough to reach him but still restrained by their stems. He dodged their open maws with a roll to the right, slicing the head off of the one closest to him. The plant hissed at him, but had no further means of locomotion to get at him. With a quick slice, he finished it off. _Good to see that he's learned_, Midna thought. _Just one more to go._

The second plant pulled back, hissing at the hero. Rather than lunge at him, though, it seemed to be waiting for something. A moment later, another deku baba sprung up from where the dead one had been. They could regenerate themselves!

The two plants began to hiss at them, spitting digestive acid in the Ordonian's direction. "Midna, the boomerang!" he called out, putting his sword away as he readied his shield to defend against the onslaught.

Bringing up her magic, Midna brought forth the magical weapon, seeing what he had planned. With a clean throw, the hero's boomerang flew from one plant to the next, quickly cutting their stems. Just as before, though, the plants regrew at their record speeds, shaking in agitation.

The hero smiled. "What, that's all you've got? I can do this all—" his sentence was cut short as another shower of acidic water splashed about, quickly having to shield himself from the spray. Midna's jaw dropped in surprise as a far larger plant emerged, easily covering the large pool itself. It was easily thirty feet long, and half as wide. The power source was emanating from its gargantuan maw as it brought itself towards them, emitting a high pitched roar as its jaw separated into three segments, revealing a disgustingly yellow eye in the center.

"Holy Din…" the hero said, dumbfounded at the horror in front of him. "There's no way that's natural. That shouldn't exist…"

"It doesn't matter if it shouldn't, it's here now, isn't it?!" Midna yelled at him. "I don't really see how to kill this thing. You won't be able to cut its stem like the others. Try not to die!"

"Thanks!" he yelled back in annoyance, already on the defensive. The giant beast snapped at him as it brought itself forward, but with how large its jaws were it was obvious the Ordonian was afraid for his life. With the other two heads keeping him at bay as well, there wasn't much he could do in the way of offense, either.

Just as she readied some of her magic to help, a monkey call came from the crumbling bark to their right. The large male monkey that they had helped was drumming its chest, a half dozen or so of the other monkeys behind it.

"Hey look! Seems that your friends have decided to help!" she said with a grin. "If anything they'll provide us a distraction!"

Sure enough, the monkeys began to pelt the monster before them with assorted fruits and rocks, causing it to turn its attention towards them. The large plant made its way over towards the annoyance, but it still didn't present any weaknesses.

Frustrated, Midna's companion threw the boomerang at the creature again, jostling it with the wind. It retaliated by spewing a stream of acid in his direction.

"Damn!" he said as he blocked the spray with his shield, the carved wood steaming and falling apart in his hands. He tossed the useless shield aside, drawing his sword in his left hand while he held the boomerang in his right.

"Looks like we're running out of time!" Midna said with concern; there wasn't any way she'd be able to kill the beast on her own as she was. "Got any plans?"

He looked at her for a moment, his expression showing all. Another shot of acid in his direction made him dash to the side, dropping the lantern at his hip.

The burning oil splashed to the ground, coating it with a film of flame. The Ordonian cursed again… and stopped, an idea forming.

Midna saw this and instantly became curious. "Well? What is it?"

"Here goes," he said, ignoring her question. He drew the boomerang back… aiming it towards the flames!

When he released it, a gust of wind formed over the oil, effectively drawing the burning liquid up with it. A veritable fire tornado spun towards the large plant, which had been distracted by a particularly large stone that the alpha male threw at it. The flaming oil splashed against it, causing it to screech out in apparent pain. The two carnivorous plants seemed to shudder as well as the great monster fell forward, its open maw thrashing on the ground as it attempted to put the fire out. Its yellow eye glared at them in pained rage.

Dashing forward, the hero drew his sword again as the boomerang clattered off to the side, still smoking from the event. The plant tried to rise again, but seemed it couldn't make the effort. A moment passed as he leapt into the air with his sword aimed at the eye, and then it was over.

The monster shrieked and roared, thrashing about in the acidic waters as it seemed to shrivel up, aging rapidly until all that remained was a dead, blackened stalk. The Ordonian's eyes blinked golden again before returning to their crystal blue, panting at his ordeal. Even so, he flourished his sword as he grinned in triumph, the monkeys above chanting and howling.

Even though she didn't want to admit it, Midna had to hand it to him. _Now that…_ she thought,_ THAT…was _impressive.

Suddenly, the blackened stalk disintegrated into the familiar black twilit particles… which quickly converged and condensed into a single center. The monkeys screeched and leapt back to a safer distance as the Fused Shadow levitated before them.

"Yes! That's it!" Midna said with glee, taking the object using her hair as a magical extension of herself. The boy seemed almost more surprised that she used her magic in this way than in awe of the power before them.

"So, this is the power we came for?" he said, eyeing her curiously.

"Yes. This is what the light spirit called dark power, a Fused Shadow," she said excitedly. "You remember what it said? How you had to match the power of the king of shadows?"

He nodded. "Kind of hard to forget."

"Ha, if this is all there is to it, then I'll… we'll…," she amended, "…have the power we need in no time!"

"I'm glad you thought this was easy," he said with a frown. "But if this is what we have to do, then we'll do it."

"Great! There's a total of three Fused Shadows, so we only need two more. I think the other light spirits will have the rest."

He grunted as he searched the room for an exit, finding no real rooms beyond the center chamber. Whatever might have been on the defiled altar vanished along with the monster.

"I still don't even know what these Fused Shadows are, other than they are sources of power… your Twilight power?" he asked, looking over the carved object.

She stored the Fused Shadow in her magical inventory to call on it later. "Tell you what. If you help me find the other two as you have here, I might even tell you what they do!" she giggled, even more so as he rolled his eyes. "Might as well not waste any more time here, though. We have what we need, and there is still a good amount of twilit magic here. Watch this."

Pointing at the floor beside them, she set a warp, glowing and pulsing on the ground. "Shall we?"

He drew a breath, readying himself with a nod. Grinning, she turned them into the twilit particles that she had done so before, speeding them back to the closest destination she could find.

As soon as they landed, the Ordonian grimaced in the spring, falling flat on his face. Midna eyed him with a smile.

"Aw, come on now, get up. We need to keep moving towards the next Fused Shadows. And your friends are still going to need you to rescue them."

He groaned in the waters. "Midna… could it wait for a bit? I'm… a little tired, now." Midna looked about with a bit of annoyance. Sure enough, it was nearly nightfall again, which meant that he had probably been awake for thirty six hours or more now. _Probably was only running on adrenaline this whole time_, she thought.

"Listen, I know that you've been up for a while, but I need you to keep moving. You can't fall asleep in a spring!" she said sternly, trying to get him up and moving again.

He groaned again as he rose to his knees, hoisting himself up with some difficulty as he slowly made his way away from the spring, moving mechanically. The Ordonian's battered image almost made her guilty… almost. It wasn't really her fault that he had gotten hurt in the temple, after all.

The thought of their earlier conversation came up again, about how he had wanted to talk. _Now_ she felt guilty.

_Come on,_ she chided herself, _he still needs to get you the other Fused Shadows. You can thank him then._ The thought of him being driven as he was sprung to mind, how he was on the brink of passing out where he stood. _And if he drives himself like this he won't make it there,_ another part of her argued. _Give him a break, he did get the first one for you, after all._

Coming up from his shadow again, she floated next to him, uncertain. She hadn't really apologized that often, and would never have thought of doing so to a light dweller, but he _was_ the one who had to go through this with her…

"Hey, um… Link?" she asked. If she hadn't started off so seriously, a giggle would have broken free at his reaction. She couldn't help a smirk as he nearly stumbled in surprise, catching himself just before he lost his footing.

"That's… I think that's the first time you've said my name, Midna." he said with a tired grin.

"Yeah, yeah," she said as she rolled her eyes. "Listen, though… I… want to say that I'm…"

She swallowed, even though her throat couldn't get dry here. _Why was this hard? It's just a few words._

"…I'm sorry, for what I said back there," she said, her eyes downcast as she struggled through the sentence. The Ordonian seemed to search her face, his eyes lighting up in a smile as he did so.

"Hey, that's what friends do, right?" he said in an exhausted tone. "Forgive and forget?"

_There's that _friend _word, again_. She gave him a smirk. "I'd go with acquaintances… at least for now, anyway."

He barked a laugh at her choice of words that he'd used previously. "All right, fair enough. Thanks… for being there, you know."

Her smirk grew to a smile, one of genuine warmth. "Well, you weren't exactly going to make it on your own, were you?" she giggled as she returned to his shadow once more.

The duo made their way back over the bridge to Ordon, finally coming upon the treehouse before the village. Apparently it was the Ordonian's home, as Link attempted to climb the ladder… only to falter on the second rung as he fell back.

"I think I'm done," he said with a sigh, simply lying back against the trunk in a heap.

Midna floated back up to his level. "Hey now, it's only a bit farther. There could still be…" she trailed off as he gave a loud snore, sound asleep. Shaking her head in amusement, she resigned herself to waiting. _A few more hours couldn't hurt,_ she thought. She didn't really need sleep as much as he did as a shadow in his world, but it wouldn't hurt to get a little herself. Moving herself back to his shadow, she closed her eyes to the waking world, eager to be going again when they awakened.

* * *

_Hopefully I can have another chapter out soon; certainly won't be a month this time. Thanks for your patience and support! You guys are awesome! :)_


	6. Chapter 6: The Journey Begins

Chapter 6: The Journey Begins

"LINK!"

Link groaned at the offending sound, his eyes still shut tight.

"Link, ya damn fool! By the Goddesses, is that you?!"

Link came to his senses slowly, opening his eyes to the morning sunlight. A man was running towards him clad in familiar clothing that reminded him of Ordon—

Link shot up from his position, instantly alert and his hand reaching for the sword at his back, faltering slightly from the stiffness in his legs. Memories surged through his mind as adrenaline flooded his veins. He remembered the Light Spirits, the temple, the Fused Shadow_… _Midna warping them out of the temple, and stumbling back to his treehouse. _I must have fallen asleep just lying here,_ he thought. _I don't know how long it's been since I left… or was taken… but the village will want to know what's happened._

"Link!" Fado cried as he ran towards him. He stopped about ten paces from him, giving him a once over. "What's with the new clothes? And you look like death warmed over, bud. What's happened?"

"Fado!" Link greeted him warmly, if still a little exhausted. "I've been… well… it's a long story."

"I'd like to hear it, man! But I think the others will, too," Fado said in earnest, motioning for Link to follow. "Come on!"

The two Ordonians traveled back down the dirt path to Ordon Village, the calls of the birds and the scent of pines sparking nostalgia as Link realized he had missed it. True, he'd only been gone for a day or so, but after being seen as a wolf in the village and being treated as a monster… by his own parents and friends, no less… he realized he was desperately looking for friendly faces. Well, there was Midna, but she wasn't exactly friendly when it came down to it.

The village appeared much as it had when Link had been a wolf, with tall torches placed every twenty paces, rather than by each house. Houses that had been overlooked in the darkness now revealed signs of defensive action; shutters that had hardly been used before were now locked and reinforced, doors showed signs of barricades as logs sharpened into spikes guarded the exterior of the homes. Mayor Bo's home looked more like a fortress than a house at this point, and if it came down to defending Ordon Link was certain the building was the safest in town. It seemed the rest of the residents were like-minded, as Link saw a congregation of folks on the mayor's deck, formed in a circle.

Apparently, the Ordonians were in the middle of a village meeting, and Mayor Bo was at the head of it.

"… we cannot continue as we are!" Jaggle shouted, shaking his fist towards the mayor. "We need to send a search party out to find and rescue our children! It's been two nights already, for Din's sake! Every able bodied villager should venture out and scour the forest and Hyrule Field!"

"And leave the rest of the village defenseless?" Bo retorted heatedly. "That would risk even more lives! And what then? The only truly skilled swordsmen we had were Rusl and Link! Rusl is still recovering from his wounds, and Link was captured along with the children!"

A murmur of discontent went through the small crowd as they realized what their foes were capable of, allowing for the mayor to continue.

"What we can do is wait for Rusl to heal and send out a smaller force to search. If we take brash action, we might cause more harm to ourselves before we—"

"What about my Beth?!" Sera wailed, the local shopkeeper. "I don't even know if my baby's alive! How can you ask us just to wait?"

Another murmur went through the crowd, this time one of agreement. Apparently the villagers preferred the brash action route.

_Looks like it's time to make an entrance_, Link thought as he and Fado approached.

"Panicking will get us nowhere!" Bo exclaimed, trying to calm the village. "I want my daughter back just as much as anyone else whose children were taken by those blasted beasts, but if we don't…" Bo trailed off as he locked eyes with Link, who was now standing just before the crowded deck with Fado.

"By the Goddesses, Fado… you found Link! Link has returned!" Bo cried jubilantly, causing a collective gasp to come from the crowd as they turned around to face the youth. In hindsight, it may not have been such a grand idea to approach the crowd, as he was soon surrounded and smothered in hugs from every direction. Link looked to Fado for help, but he only grinned at his friend's plight, standing at a safe distance away shaking his head.

Soon after the initial bombardment, questions rang out faster than Link could even register them.

"How did you escape? Did you see where—"

"Where did they take you? I swear, we'll hunt these sons of—"

"—just get back? And where did you find those old clothes—"

"Everyone, EVERYONE! Calm down, you're going to give the man a headache," Bo chuckled, coming down to separate the crowd. He clasped Link's shoulder, giving him a smile and a nod. Link returned the gesture, thankful for the intervention.

"Link my boy, the village has been worried sick about you and the children. As you've probably heard," he chuckled as they waded through the crowd back towards the deck.

"It's good to have you back in one piece," Bo said warmly, the crowd's murmuring quieting down to better listen to their conversation. "Tell us lad, where have you been? Where are the children?"

Link's grin fell, replaced by a frown and a look of hesitation. "I've been… it's difficult to describe," he said, certain that the villagers wouldn't believe his encounter with the Twilight… or his companion. "I was attacked in the spring by bulbins when I was with Colin and Ilia… I ran after them… but…"

_—He stood before a wall of darkness, inlaid with symbols as it absorbed the light around it. A black hand sprung from the curtain and latched around him, dragging him inside as he—_

Link swallowed as he relived the memory. "… I was… ambushed… by the monsters in Faron Woods," he lied. It wasn't a complete lie, more of a half-truth; after all, he _was_ ambushed by a monster. "I followed a group of the bulbins to the Temple that night, hoping that Colin and Ilia had been taken there. I guess I'd been hunting them night and day… and there wasn't any way I was sleeping in that tree."

A portion of the crowd murmured in concern and in agreement. Those that had seen the Temple knew what he meant.

One of the villagers spoke up. "Is that where you found those clothes?"

Link nodded, thinking on his feet. "The bulbins had a number of items with them as well. I was able to sneak up on some of them, and I grabbed these along with the sword and shield that were meant for the Royal Family. I hoped there would be a chance the children were there too, but…"

"Wait, so you don't know where they were taken?" Sera asked, desperate for an answer. Link grimaced as he looked down at the deck boards. It pained him that he couldn't be honest with his friends and family, but more so by the fact that he didn't have the answers they all wanted… _needed_… to hear.

"I'm sorry," Link said, his head hung in defeat. Bo gave him a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder, causing him to look back up into the mayor's concerned features.

"Don't be. You did well for yourself out there, and by the sounds of it you've had quite the ordeal, lad. You should spend some time to—"

"I'm not staying," Link said with hard conviction.

"Well, I was hoping you'd be up for heading out again," Bo said with a small smile. "We were planning to head out to search for them once Rusl had healed, but that will take some time. We don't have too many able-bodies who can handle a blade—"

"No. I'm leaving today. Within the hour."

The crowd seemed to make a few sounds of shock, and Bo's brows knitted together as he looked at Link questioningly. "But lad, you've just arrived! Surely you're exhausted, and we could send a proper scouting party if we waited a few da—"

"The longer we wait, the longer they could be in danger," Link said as he cut the mayor off for the third time, much to the large man's annoyance. "I can move faster on my own; Epona and I could explore most of Hyrule Field in a day's time, rather than trek on foot. I can find the children, and the village can be better protected as those who would leave to scout could instead protect everyone back home." _Come to think of it, that's a pretty good plan,_ Link mentally congratulated himself.

Whispered murmurs moved through the crowd again as Mayor Bo stroked his chin in thought, weighing his options. "You know that we can't help you if you get hurt out there. There's no telling what you'll find in the Field with those monsters about."

"Didn't stop me from trying to set out before, Mayor," Link replied confidently, "We don't have many options."

The burly man stood for a moment, Bo's eyes closed as his hand continued its movements about his jaw. Link could sense his hesitation, sending a single man out not even twenty years old so that the village could remain protected, believing it to be his fault if anything happened to him. Link certainly didn't want to be in the mayor's place.

With a sigh of defeat, Bo opened his eyes and nodded to Link, his mouth pulled into a grimace. "Link, you had better know what you're getting into," he said quietly, walking towards the front of the deck to fully address the crowd.

"It is decided. Link will go in search of the children while the rest of us gather our strength and protect the village. Once Link has determined where they are or has them rescued, we can then get back to preparing for the harvest and going about our lives. Are there any opposed?"

The crowd shuffled for a moment, the desire for a return to their normalcy was almost palpable. They wanted their children back as soon as they could, and here was a plan that could accomplish this.

With not one villager dissenting, Mayor Bo nodded solemnly. "Very well. Link will need supplies for his journey, some extra waterskins and food as well for the children on the way back. I want everyone who can craft…"

The mayor's voice continued on for some time, calling out instructions and asking the villagers' questions as Link found himself scanning the crowd of familiar faces, a pang of guilt cropping up when he noticed the absences of the village children and its impact on the crowd. He saw the worry and grief etched into the faces of his friends and family, saw the hope in their eyes at the prospect of their children being alive and well. They believed, and they believed that _he_ could make it all better.

Link gritted his teeth in silent determination. He never wanted this responsibility that the world and the Goddesses seemed keen on throwing on him, but he sure as hell was going to give it his best shot.

"Link?" a voice cried out from his left, a sad yet hopeful sound that carried over the crowd's discussion. He turned to see Uli standing by their family home, and his heart leapt at the sight. _At least Rusl and Uli are still—_

The grin quickly fell from his face, the relief replaced with a stark sense of dread. _Goddesses, _Rusl. _If his wounds have gotten worse…_

Link quickly stole away from the deck with a passing "excuse me" to no one in particular, sprinting up to Uli as he struggled with a range of emotions. She opened her arms and he gripped her in a tight hug, careful of the child she had on her way.

"I was so worried," Uli whispered, her eyes shut tight as she held him close. "When those beasts came from the spring, I could only pray that you and Colin were okay. And when you never came back…"

"Shh, I'm all right. I'm here," Link comforted, rubbing up and down on her shoulders as they held each for a moment longer. "I missed you, Uli. Is Rusl… I mean, are his injuries—"

Uli shook her head as they released each other. "No, Rusl is doing well. He just needs to rest for a while, let his body recover."

Link released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Thank Nayru. Is he awake? Can I see him?"

"He's asleep, but you should come in. He'd want to see you if he could," Uli said with a sad smile, opening the door to their village abode.

It was much the same as it had been when he was last here, aside from the now blocked tunnel that he had dug as a wolf and various bundles of makeshift and forged weapons in the corner. Even injured, it seemed that Rusl still tried to continue his craft to protect the village; the image of his adoptive father hunched over a table sprung to mind, trying to carve javelins and sharpen blades as he asked Uli for more bandages. Link smiled ruefully at the thought. _It was always like him to put the people first._

Rusl himself was on the bed as Uli described, his chest slowly rising and falling with his steady breathing. Despite the haggard look that mired his features, it seemed he was sleeping peacefully under the woolen quilt.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Uli continued, her voice tight with emotion. "I'd been caring for Rusl while Bo was speaking, but I know that if you knew where Colin was… he'd be with you now."

She stooped down by the fireplace, taking a kettle of water that had been hung on the spit to heat. "It's been so difficult here without you and the rest of the children. These past two days have been so strange… monsters stormed into the village, just stealing and breaking things." Uli set the kettle down by the bedside mechanically, drawing a quivering breath. "The children… they were just taken away. Rusl tried to fight them off, but there were so many… Goddesses, one of them even got into our home! Right over there! Why couldn't we just be left to—"

"Uli. It'll be all right," Link said quietly, embracing her once more as he felt both the need to comfort her and guilt at being partly responsible for her anguish. She sobbed quietly into his shoulder, tears staining the green fabric of his tunic as he held her, just letting her release some of the emotional tension she'd been holding in. Link no longer felt sorrowful that the village had been reduced to this state. He felt _furious._

_"Who do you think you are, preying upon this village? What have you done with them, beast? Where are my sons?!"_

Rusl's words echoed in his mind, and he now fully understood the rage on Rusl's face the night he had fled for Faron Woods; the cold hatred towards anything that threatened those he loved.

This was no longer just about saving the children. Now, Link felt an inexplicable desire for _revenge_.

"I'll bring Colin back," he said, more to himself than to her. "I'll bring them all back."

Uli had stopped sobbing, releasing him as she stepped back to look at Rusl. "I know that you will want to leave as quickly as you can to go after them," she said quietly, subdued. "But Link… just remember that you're our son, too. Be safe."

Link just stood by the door's threshold, speechless for a moment at Uli's declaration, how calmly she said that she truly cared for him in such a way, and how reminiscent it was to what Ilia had asked him in the spring.

_"…Just come home safely."_

The fury that was building inside him was subdued at the memory, and a small smile crept onto his face. He placed a hand on Uli's shoulder, looking her in the eyes as he repeated the same words he had before.

"I promise."

* * *

_Patience was a virtue, they always said. Good things will come to those who wait. Who was the dolt who thought that up? _

Since "the Hero" awoke that morning, it was all Midna could do to be patient, just waiting in Link's shadow for as long as it took for him to get out of the sight of the other light dwellers. She scowled at how none of them ever thought to look down at the youth's shadow, oblivious to its hazy shape and glowing eye that one could easily make out if they looked for it. _Idiots, just like all of the other light dwellers. _

It was nearly noon in the light world of theirs before Link managed to get away from the mob of humans, and it was all she could do to keep herself from grinding her teeth at "the Hero's" lack of urgency. And he was now loaded like a pack mule with gifts and supplies from his friends… which he would undoubtedly need her to hold onto.

She huffed in disdain. _At least now they would be on their way aga—_

"Hey Link!"

_Oh, for the love of…_

The large mayor called out to Link once again, causing the green clad slowpoke to stop and turn, much to her increasing annoyance.

"We found three of the beasts dead just outside your house. We don't know what got to them, but whatever did it wasn't human! Be careful out there, lad!"

_I'll bet that the "lad" has a pretty good idea_, Midna grinned darkly, almost able to feel the waves of nervousness coming off of him. Link returned a grin and a wave before _finally_ setting off along the path away from the village and towards their next destination. After he walked past his tree-house (who builds a house in a tree?), Midna's felt she had waited long enough.

"Well, Mr. Hero, here I was thinking that you were in a hurry," she sneered as she sprung from his shadow, glaring at him. "We could have been well on our way by now, but no, you had to go have a reunion and group hugs with every light dweller in your province!"

Link slowed his pace. "I know that—"

Midna balled her fists in anger. "No! You can walk and talk, get a move on!"

With a scowl, Link moved to a fast walk. "I know that I kept you waiting back there, but I'd be able to move faster without all of the things they gave me," he continued. "I guess they thought I had Epona waiting for me just outside the village."

"Aw, and you expect me to just help you with the load, huh? Well, too bad, wolfie! I'm not really seeing much in it for me," she scoffed, hovering in front of him with her arms crossed.

Link rolled his eyes at her sulking. "Aside from how we'll get to where we need to go faster?"

"Really, that's it?" she smirked, her small fang bared in a challenge. "I could've had that going for me if we left earlier. You're going to have to try harder."

The Ordonian sighed. "All right, tell you what. You carry the food and supplies that I've got, and I'll share some of the pumpkin bread that Uli made for me before I left."

_That_ got her attention. Her taunting smirk turned eager at the thought. Whatever bread there had been left over from their original encounter had been _incredible._

Link must have noticed a change in her posture, as a small smile now tugged at the corners of his mouth. Midna turned her head, feigning disinterest. No, he wasn't going to win her over with some stupid spiced, mouthwatering cake-like morsels…

"It's still warm," he added, grinning openly as he reached back into his pack. "I was thinking about having some myself, actually."

_Nope, not listening, not listening… _she thought in a feeble attempt to drown out his voice even as she licked her lips in anticipation.

"Yep. Nothing quite like some freshly baked pumpkin bread," Link continued, procuring a loaf of the treasured food that he slowly brought to his face. "Mmm, smells good enough to eat—"

"All right, all right! I'll do it!" Midna exclaimed, her eyes focused on the bread. "But I'd better get the bigger half of that."

"You're not the one holding the bread, Midna," Link grinned infuriatingly, "But I'm generous enough. Here, I'll leave the other half in the pack for you," he said, placing what seemed to be an even half of the treat in the knapsack while putting the rest in the pouch at his side. It still didn't look large enough to her, though.

Pointing at the stuffed bag, Midna willed the goods to the hammer space that lay between their worlds. "Done. _Now_ can you get moving faster?" she asked, eager to fall back into his shadow and indulge herself.

Link stretched, reveling in the freedom he now possessed without the extra forty pounds of weight on his shoulders. He started up again in a slight jog, his sword the only item on his back as it gently bounced in its scabbard. Midna hadn't really been paying attention to their surroundings, but now they were already in Faron Woods, and making decent time at the Hero's current pace.

The forest was decidedly more cheerful than when they had entered originally, Midna noticed. True, it wasn't as peaceful or welcoming as the Twilight was, and there was still that harsh sunlight that shone through the trees, but there were also more animal sounds, more crickets chirping and birds singing. In fact, she didn't think she could hear any of the monsters that had plagued the forest before, and those that she might have imagined hearing seemed far off in the distance, nothing to be concerned with now. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't horrible, as far as this world of Light went.

Of course, the fact that she was now enjoying a sizeable bite of pumpkin bread probably helped tweak her opinion a bit. She closed her eyes as she savored the taste, the variety of flavors making her truly smile for the first time since they awoke. When she returned to her world, she would definitely have to find a way for someone to make that bread for her, even if they had to go all the way back to Ordon to get it.

Link was making good time now, moving through the small cut-through that connected with the path to the temple. Turning before the deku baba infested tunnel that they had to pass through before, he walked through the clearing where that lazy lantern seller had been, Cuckoo or whomever. The name wasn't important, but even as preoccupied as she was with her bread loaf, Midna still felt a sting of anger at how Link dropped a few red rupees into the pale of lanterns nearby, just giving the gems away.

Link must have noticed her glare, as he simply shrugged and walked on. "His lantern oil helped save my life back there. With all the rupees we found I figured I could spare a few to thank him."

"A few would've been two or three of the green ones, they're the worthless ones," Midna grumbled around her mouthful of bread before swallowing it down. "Maybe I should hold onto that wallet of yours if you're just going to throw money away on a whim."

"Actually, I've been thinking about that," Link said as he ducked under a low-hanging branch on the path. "Just where do you put the things that you stow away? I certainly don't see you wearing pockets."

"Oh, this is another one of your "acquaintance" talks, isn't it?" Midna said, rolling her eyes.

"No really, where does it all go?" Link laughed, "I've never heard of someone keeping things stored away in thin air."

Midna was about to give a scrappy retort, but then stopped herself, thinking on what Link had said. Honestly, she'd never heard of any magic user questioning how they could store and summon things at will, and Midna hadn't either. It made things easier, and that's all that mattered.

"…It's magic."

"So you don't even know how it works?" he laughed, glancing down at her.

Her eyes narrowed. "I didn't say that, but if that's what you want to think, then go ahead. I don't care."

"All right, no need to get all defensive on… woah."

The Hero stopped, looking out at the sudden open expanse that lay before them. Midna took in the sight Grassy plains stretched on for miles, and while there was a stream that ran through the field and trees cropped up among the hills and rock formations here and there, much of Hyrule Field before them was flat and unremarkable aside from its sheer openness. In the distance, a wall of Twilight divided the land in half, the clear blue skies of the east meeting the blacks and golds of the west.

_Home_, Midna thought, her mood brightening at the sight. There was some comfort in seeing the Twilight again, and as awful as this world of Light was the darkened skies helped make things a little bit better. But more importantly, where there was Twilight, there were Fused Shadows… and the Light Spirits that failed to keep them sealed away.

_Whatever. This world can burn to the ground so long as I get what I need._

The pair stood in front of the expanse for a few moments before Midna took the initiative. "Well, there's where we need to go," Midna said from Link's shadow, taking advantage of the shade the Hero provided in the bright sunlight. "Where's this horse you were talking about?"

The Ordonian was still looking out at the fields, his mouth slightly open in awe at the sight.

"Hey! We don't have all day! Places to see, things to do!" she snapped, angry at being ignored.

Link snapped out of his daze, startled into action. "Right, right. Let's see here…" he said, stooping down to pick some grass. Taking two pieces of the vegetation, he held the blades at an odd angle in his hand.

She rolled her eyes at his actions. "Where are you going with this?" Midna asked as she watched him bring the grass blades to his lips. "This better not be another—"

A high-pitched, melodic whistle emanated twice from the Ordonian's lips, his eyes closed as the sound echoed across the field.

A few moments passed as Link scanned the horizon, waiting expectantly.

"…uh, nice tune and all, but where's the horse?" Midna asked again. "If that's your horse call, it doesn't seem to be working."

Link frowned. "Epona always comes to that call. Maybe she's too far away to hear it."

"The light dwellers in the next province heard it. Your horse might just be stupid."

"Epona is not stupid!" Link growled angrily. "It'll take time for her to get here. If she's out there, she'll come running." He blew the whistle again, repeating the melody as he scanned the horizon. Aside from several birdlike creatures running through the grasses and some wild bokoblins in the distance, the field was unforgivingly empty.

Midna gave the Ordonian a cruel smile. "Well, Mr. Hero, looks like you're walking for now. Better get moving if you want to get there sometime today."

Link still looked across the fields, his gaze set on the horizon. His eyes hardened in their intensity for a moment before he finally bowed his head in defeat. "Yeah, I guess I do." With a sigh, the hero threw the grass aside and started up a steady trot, nowhere near as fast as the horse they hoped to ride. Midna would've found more enjoyment in teasing him had his horse call worked… or if he hadn't seemed so crestfallen that it hadn't.

_That's not important_, she chided herself. _We're on our way, and that's all that matters_.

* * *

Link wasn't sure why he felt so devastated over it, running at his steady pace. In the grand scheme of things, Epona wasn't as important as saving Ilia or the rest of the children, but it may have been the final straw it took to break the mule's back. Between losing the children, setting off on a quest to save Hyrule, and becoming the Goddesses' chosen Hero, he had hoped for one, just _one _thing to remain normal in his life. It was ironic that he had thought he had been holding up well under all of the changes in the past few days, only to have him falter in what should have been only a minor setback. The splendor of his new surroundings had worn off almost as soon as he felt captivated by them; what better place to ride Epona than in these open plains?

_Not like it matters now, though_, he thought bitterly, still running at his brisk pace. They still had to get to the Twilight and the Light Spirit, one way or another.

Some length of time must have passed during his run, as he was suddenly acutely aware of his lungs burning and his legs feeling as heavy as stone as he ran. Panting, he slowed his pace to a walk, bringing out a waterskin to drink from. _At least I'm loaded up with supplies_, Link thought, gulping the cool liquid down. _Having to forage for food would take even longer_.

Link exhaled softly as he finished his drink, looking out over the field again for any sign of Epona or the children, to no avail. The wall of Twilight was close now, and a path through the outlying rock wall surrounding the field seemed to lead right to it. He shivered to himself as he walked on, trying not to think about the monstrosities that lurked behind the—

_Squelch._

Link looked down and promptly gagged in disgust. "Oh, come on!" he exclaimed in annoyance, trying to shake the offensively smelling dung from his boot.

Midna must have known, because she started laughing as soon as he cried out. "Hehehe, that's the greatest thing I've seen all day! Seriously, the one pile of poo in the field, and you manage to step in it. Hehe!"

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, resorting to scraping his boot on the grass. "Ugh, this stuff is gross. How can you stand being on the ground with that?"

"I'm in your shadow, not on the ground. Here I don't have to interact with anything in your world, and I'm not floating up to your level to get a whiff. No, I think I'm fine where I am," she giggled, her glowing eye bright with mirth.

Midna's antics weren't helping the situation, and his boot just wouldn't scrub clean. He sighed as he searched around for a stick or something nearby… and stopped. There were hoofprints in the ground here. _Toed_ hoofprints. Like those of a boar…

His heart racing, Link studied the ground, eyes following where the tracks lead. He started up in a jog in the same direction as the prints. Some would vanish for a moment when they passed over hard earth before reappearing again in the mud or loam, going in a mostly straight line headed directly towards…

The wall of Twilight… straight through the cut in the rock wall. Grim determination took him now that he knew where the children had been taken through. He still felt fatigued from his earlier run, but he couldn't help but dash forward again, now having a more personal reason to go there.

"Wow, Mr. Hero, where was this spirit earlier?" Midna said in a surprised tone. "If you were running like this before, we wouldn't have needed a horse!"

"I know where the children were taken," Link said hurriedly, his feet pounding up to the cliff path.

"Really, that's it? Saving your world wasn't enough motivation?"

"Too big to focus on," he panted, still pushing himself as hard as he could. The afternoon skies began to darken as he ran closer to the Wall, the light seemingly absorbed into the black and gold Twilight.

At last, all brightness of his surroundings had faded, save for the foreboding glow of the absorbed light before him, standing at the precipice of the Twilight. Midna sprung from his shadow, eyeing the Wall with interest.

"Wow, the Twilight is closer than I thought it'd be. Maybe it's starting to spread back towards the woods?" Midna mused, a hand at her chin in thought. She turned towards him then, her glowing eye standing out against the blackness behind her.

"Now, I know you want to save your friends, but it won't be a picnic in there," she warned. "You'll become a beast again as soon as I bring you into the Twilight… it could be a while before we lift it and you can change back."

Link swore he heard the barest hint of concern in her voice, before her eye narrowed into what must have been a smirk.

"Of course, that just means I'll get to have more fun with as a wolf. Just think of all the tricks I could teach you!" Midna giggled, floating over to the Twilight wall as she spoke. She turned to him again, the grin still on her face.

"Now, we have Fused Shadows to get, and you have friends to save. Shall we?"

With a smirk of his own, Link gave a determined nod. "Let's."

* * *

_So... yeah._

_Sorry about the nearly two month wait for this transition chapter. I've been busier than ever before this semester, and I've not had much time to write recently, as much as I want to. Even so, I'm still at it, and __**hopefully**__ things will be easier for me soon enough._

_I'd like to thank Sir Pudding, Kiue Jin, and Blood-of-Silver for reviewing the last chapter, and I'll see you guys next time!_


	7. Chapter 7: In the Shadows

_Well, I'm back! Been a long semester, but it's finally over! I've left you all hanging for more than 3 months, and have felt awful about the lack of updates for my stories. Life, school, and work ate up my time, and finding inspiration or desire to write was difficult._

_Still, I'll never abandon a story I've started, and thank you all for your patience. I wasn't quite sure where to end this one, but I like how it turned out. It hasn't been beta'd yet, so please let me know if you spot any mistakes or have any suggestions for the story!_

_On that note, I'm welcome to PMs and thoughts/criticism on the story. All reviews are welcome, though when it comes to guest reviews I'd be unable to contact and answer questions, and I'd rather not potential spoilers in an author's note. _

_I'd like to thank Sokka-Mushroom, SparxtheHedgehog, and Sir Pudding for reviewing the previous chapter!_

* * *

Chapter 7: In the Shadows

Quiet. It was always quiet in the tower. Soothing. Peaceful.

If she distanced herself enough from the reality, it was almost as if it were another ordinary summer day in Hyrule, standing at the window.

If not for the never changing golden glow of a sunset and the misshapen "birds" that honked and trumpeted as they circled the tower, the illusion might have held.

Zelda sighed, the former Princess of Hyrule turning from her view of the outside world. There was little she could do in her velvet prison, lest she break her promise to the Twilight King. If she used her powers to even the slightest degree, she would alert the usurper's guards in an instant, and there would be little reason for them to continue showing their "hospitality" to anyone in her court. _Though who was to say that they would stop there?_ she thought bitterly. The twili who had taken Hyrule hostage was utterly ruthless, and judging by the actions he'd taken storming the castle he wouldn't show more than the basest of mercies to the townspeople.

She grimaced at the thought. Perhaps it was a lot to ask of the Hero, but given he was the only one who could help lift the siege of Twilight from the land, there was little choice in the matter. He needed to save them, for all of their sakes. And she, bound by her oath, could only sit in this tower and wait, as if she was the "damsel in distress" in an old fairy tale!

A slow creaking of the tower door was heard from below, indicating the impending arrival of the guard. Every hour, a single guard was dispatched to check on her, providing food and drink for her on every fourth visit. Given the promptness of the guard, it was easy to see that the King had at least maintained some manner of discipline with his… soldiers, disturbing as they were.

The shuffling of feet drew closer and closer to the ornate doors of her room, finally stopping just outside. A steady rasping of knuckles against the intricately carved wood signaled that the beast had delivered what it had intended, and the doors cracked open enough for the misshapen creature to swivel its head through. The slimy black tendrils of the helmeted face seemed to feel about the air, like the antennae of a cockroach, searching for her presence. After making several disturbing clicking noises, the beast nodded its head upon determining where she was and (thankfully) left without doing anything further.

Zelda held her breath as the beast slowly descended back down the flight of stairs, waiting until the sound of the lower door closing shut once again before crossing the room. The fact that she was at their mercy sickened her, but what would the people of Hyrule gain were she not to eat? She'd only be hindering herself if she—

"Princess," the tall robed figure sneered. "I hope you have room for another; after all, where would your manners be if you were not gracious enough to invite your host to dine with you?"

Zelda stood frozen at the doorway, dumbfounded by her captor's audacity. The twili took her silence as acceptance, striding past her without a second glance from the fish-like mask he wore.

"I trust that everything is to your liking here," the foul creature continued, summoning forth a plate of exquisite Hylian cuisine that he casually placed on her table. "It becomes rather tiresome keeping my soldiers from pursuing their instincts, particularly when the castle servants don't do their jobs."

Zelda felt herself tense at his words, her eyes glinting with defiance. "I've held up my end of our arrangement, Zant—"

"_Lord_ Zant," he corrected, cold humor in his voice.

Zelda ignored him. "Do you really believe it is wise to make threats to my people in my presence, here in the castle of my father's father?" she asked coolly, clenching her fist towards him as the Triforce shown brightly on the back of her hand. "It is for their wellbeing alone that I've allowed for this at all."

If the twili was afraid of the power of the Goddesses, he didn't show it. "I seem to recall you were unable to protect your people in the first place, _princess_. Otherwise, I would never have claimed Hyrule for my own, despicable as it was." Zelda tried to maintain eye contact for a moment before faltering, lowering her hand in defeat. Zant seemed not to notice as the lower portion of his helmet retracted, folding in on itself in a mechanical fashion. Only the demonic twili's mouth was exposed as he grinned up at her from her table, revealing rows of sharp, needlelike teeth.

"Though there is one thing I must credit this land for," Zant said, taking a forkful of roast cuckoo into his mouth as he began to eat with gusto. "The food is superb. It's almost a shame that your world won't produce such quality dishes without your precious sunlight… almost." He finished off the remainder of the slab of meat, moving on to one of the castle's sweet rolls.

Zelda turned away from the sight of the meal, trying in vain to prevent her mouth from watering at the aromas wafting through the room.

"And who knows?" her captor continued. "The land might yet maintain its yields. If the people obey, I might even be willing to share the scraps of my court's meals as a reward."

Zelda's hands gripped the windowsill hard enough to turn her knuckles white. "I assume that you have another reason to have come up here than to taunt me?" she asked, looking out through the window once again.

"Well, as enjoyable as that might be," Zant chuckled, "…you are correct." The princess heard the scraping of the twili's chair against the stone floor as he rose from the table, banishing the food away to where he had received it.

"My soldiers, strong as they are, have met with an obstacle," he said, the humor now gone from his voice. "They have not yet been able to spread our Twilight throughout the land as of yet. Something… or someone… has prevented my scouts from claiming the light from the Spirit that resides in Ordon. Now it seems that the province of Faron has been… _restored_," he spat the word, "as well."

Zant paused for a moment, letting the gravity of the situation sink in. "Tell me, _princess_…" he said dangerously. "You wouldn't happen to have had anything to do with these events… would you?"

_So the Hero is succeeding_, Zelda thought, smiling inwardly. "I can assure you, I've upheld my promise. I've not wielded any of the power of my blessing since we had our… accord."

Zelda heard the monster's footsteps fast approaching, turning just in time with her arms raised defensively as Zant stopped within inches of her, his mouth twisted into a snarl.

"You lie! The pitiful creatures you call your 'people' are no more aware of what's happening around them than they are their own futility!" he spat, stopped only from advancing further by the fierce glow and crackle of magic coming from her hands.

"Your _beasts_ would have discovered me if they are as competent as you claim," she countered, gaining some small satisfaction by the further tightening of the twili's mouth. "Perhaps you've underestimated the abilities of the Spirits of this land."

Zant threw back his head, barking a laugh. "Hardly! My soldiers had more difficulty conquering your castle, and that didn't take much. Those fools can't even protect themselves, let alone a province. No, there must be something else at work," he said, staring at her left hand which held her piece of the Triforce.

_Zant would discover that the Hero and Midna are working together soon_, she realized. _But if I can keep him from knowing for just a while longer…_

"You assume much, Zant," she said, denying him his self-proclaimed title. "Perhaps it is not the rise of the Spirits, but your beasts who are failing."

The twili's mask slid back into place, but not before Zelda saw Zant's scowl deepen. "You push your luck, hylian. Maybe I should make an example of one of the maids, and then have you explain to your servants why their companion has to suffer."

"If you do that, then you will not leave this castle alive," Zelda warned, bristling in defense of her people.

The false king was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "I wouldn't be so worried about what I do…" he began, his voice disturbingly calm for her threat, "…as what they would do…" Zant gestured to the guard that had appeared in the doorway, feeling the air with its tendrils as it stalked forward on its fingers, twitching and scuttling like a spider. "With no one to control them, who knows how they'd react? After all, they are only _beasts_, as you said…"

Zant turned on his heel, leaving Zelda feeling grim defiance in his wake. "I shall investigate this matter, princess. In the meantime, enjoy your meal." He summoned a plate of food on the table, exiting the room without a backwards glance.

The guard stayed in the corner, its haunting black body bent in unnatural angles with disturbingly humanoid hands and legs. With a shudder she turned to the plate that had been left for her, which contained nothing but a glass of water and stale bread. Shamefully, Zelda lunged for the plate and worked at the bread voraciously. _My will shall not be broken,_ she vowed to herself as she crunched away at the pitiful meal. For the sake of the Hero and her people, she would _endure_.

* * *

Unaware of the plight of Hyrule's princess occurring miles away, Link's paws pounded away at the ground as he sped ever closer to his destination; a mountain that seemed to beckon in the distance. Somewhere along the way of the children's capture, Talo lost the wooden sword Link had given him before he left for Hyrule, and by the mercy of the Goddesses had provided him a scent to track. _Despite the inconvenience of this body, I have to give credit where it's due,_ he thought. His canine form was coming in handy for some situations, namely using his fine-tuned senses… and running. With a "trail" to follow and his excitement to follow it, he practically galloped through the twilit plains of Hyrule's Fields, covering far more distance than he would have on foot. Even Midna seemed pleased with their progress, despite still digging her heels into his sides from time to time to get him to move faster.

As if on cue, his last train of thought was punctuated by another kick in the sides from the persistent imp on his back.

"Come on, wolfie! Faster!" Midna urged him, using her heels on him like one might to a horse. "We should just use you as a steed instead of your horse. We might actually be making good time if you keep this up!" she snickered, holding onto his back with a grip that tugged uncomfortably at his fur.

_Well, guess this was her version of "payback" for what he'd said beforehand,_ Link grimaced as he maintained his already breakneck pace. He really couldn't go much faster at this point, though he surprised himself when he found he wasn't really slowing down despite the fatigue he felt. He swore he'd been running for hours already, but there was no real way of knowing in a realm of Twilight. With the unchanging golden light of his surroundings being the only light available, time began to blur together, as did the scenery. Sure, there were small farms and collections of homes that dotted the landscape in the distance, but the majority of the famed Hyrule Field was just that; vast, grassy, empty fields.

Aside from its inhabitants, of course.

What must have once been kargarocs, the large vulture-like birds that Rusl had told him of during his travels outside of Ordon, were now of the same shape and size of the monstrous "birds" that had circled Hyrule Castle, and were utterly malformed. With a now circular jaw that opened like a flower, the monsters plagued the skies, trumpeting and filling the air with the beats of their leathery wings.

If that wasn't enough, bands of bulbins and wild bokoblins who had wandered the plains were now also disfigured, their twisted and blackened shapes becoming even more nightmarish than they had been before.

It was by sheer luck that none had decided to pursue him even after he had been spotted by them on multiple occasions, though the "birds" were both faster and seemingly more feral. Link swerved to his left, still tracking the scent even as one of the beasts swooped down from overhead, but before it could try to grab him a bolt of magic struck it square in the chest, dropping it to the ground in a heap where it dissolved into the familiar black particles that fled into the surroundings.

Midna's magic-laden hands still crackled in the air, her voice betraying the grin she must have had on her face.

"Better keep it up, wolfie. If you slow down, I'll have a lot more target practice to deal with. I might start to slip up," she said tauntingly, even though Link knew she was lying. Between her giggling and snarky remarks, it didn't sound like she was even breaking a sweat. _He_, on the other hand, was practically laboring for breath, and probably wouldn't last much longer. Adding the distractions of Midna and the birds to the mix made it increasingly difficult to track the scent.

Another bird swooped down from above, breaking off at the last second to avoid a burst of twilit magic. "I think these things are trying too hard," Midna scoffed. "And they really don't know who they're dealing with."

The monstrosity honked as if in reply, coming around for a second pass. This time, the Midna's attack struck home, blasting the beast back as it disintegrated into the shadows.

"And they're stupid, too. What a great combo!" she continued with a roll of her eyes. "Still, at least we won't have to put up for this for much longer; wherever you're going is headed straight for the next Light Spirit."

Link almost tumbled over his own feet in surprise, drawing his attention to where he was now. The mountain was close; far closer than it had been a few hours ago. A canyon-like trench seemed to cut through the outer-base of the mountain, merging into the surrounding cliffs that formed a natural wall before it. Panting hard, Link took another few sniffs of the air, finding Talo's scent still present, beyond the ugly iron gates that stood guarding the path.

"Huh, I wonder what these gates are for," Midna pondered aloud, eyeing the path before them. "Are they trying to keep someone out… or keep them in…?" She let the question hang in the air, neither answer being a welcome one for the village's inhabitants. Sniffing the ground, Link found a soft patch of dirt to dig through, pawing his way under the gate and to the other side. The odd pair made their way through the cut-through, the canyon's walls high on either side. True enough, Link could hear the lamentation of a Light Spirit nearby, the melancholy notes radiating through the air. But his hairs stood on end as he the underlying scent of the bulbins overpowered the children's, mingling with foul stench of shadow beasts as well.

Quickly, Link ran forward until the canyon's walls broke into a clearing, revealing a settlement amidst the divide in the rocky walls. A sign arced across the clearing, the word "Kakariko" carved in bold letters into it. _So this is Kakariko Village,_ Link thought. _That must mean the mountain in the distance is Death Mountain._

It wasn't quite how he'd imagined it, from Rusl's stories. Rusl had described Kakariko as a quiet but populous village, a village at Death Mountain's base that worked closely with the tribe of gorons that lived on it. Gorons were another race altogether from hylians, and were likened to a "race of rock people" by some of the Ordon villagers. Some stories said they ate boulders; others said that they lived in the magmas of the volcanic Death Mountain from whence they came. Some stories even went so far as to say they could grow to be the size of a house, but with all of the fantastic tales, it was hard to know truth from falsehood. From what Rusl said, the village had cropped up around Eldin spring, just as Ordon had for its. And aside from the small oasis of water, it was doubtful that there would have been any hylians living here at all.

And now, it seemed that there weren't all that many left.

What may have once been a busy street lay littered with ransacked market stalls, broken carriages, and debris of all sorts. Buildings seemed to have makeshift barricades in place, and those with windows were either boarded shut or smashed into. And the scent of the beasts revealed that many still stalked the area, the corrupted bokoblins, bulbins, and shadow beasts in the street, on rooftops, and even climbing the tower that overlooked the town.

Cautiously, Link clung to the canyon wall, the golden glow of twilight painting the surrounding area with orange cliffs and long shadows, which he firmly stuck to. Sniffing and heavy breathing could be heard from the buildings nearby, guttural growls and the scraping of claws against wooden rooftops.

The round building ahead of him still had lit torches, for all the good they did in the twilight. Oddly enough, the light from the torch posts seemed to be absorbed into the atmosphere, the darkness eagerly overcoming the natural light. A crack in the window shutters revealed similar "phantom" torches inside, a good indication of—

"Ah, cripes," a voice sighed bitterly. "How the hell am I supposed to babysit these little brats when I oughta be savin' meself?"

Link's ears perked up, moving closer to the window to investigate. Talo's scent was strong, now. _Very_ strong. Daring a look inside, Link pressed himself against the window shutter, searching and listening. Several spirits were clustered inside, huddling around each other. If he just focused a little more…

_There! That is definitely Talo!_ he thought, the small spirit huddled amongst the others. _I've found them!_ Link's tail started to wag uncontrollably at the thought. He sniffed the air again. Talo, Malo, Beth, even Colin! There was another child with them as well, as well as a man who seemed to be their caretaker… but… where was Ilia?

"I dinna see those black brutes anywhere out there," the man at the window continued. He smelt of meat and cheese… and some sharp scent he didn't recognize. "They've gotta be hidin' somewhere, waintin' for their helpless little prey to come out. Then! Then they'll _feast!_"

A scared whimper came from Talo, who sat closest to the other man.

"We are safe as long as we are in this sanctuary, child. Be at ease," the man soothed.

"Oh yah? I wunder if the munsters out there agree with ya," the window man snorted. "They sure didn't seem impressed with me bombs! How long do ya think we can 'old this sanctuary against beasts that strong, ey?"

"If those 'tings come in a group, it's over!" he continued, "We're lucky that we got the children in 'ere when we did. Sure, de bombs knocked de boars off course so the folk could save 'em, I'll credit meself that, but our little victory was just that, ey? Remember the lady from the general store? Just one of those 'tings attacked her, and a whole gang from de town went to save her! And what happened? She was already a goner, and there were _two_ more of the munsters waitin'! Fran and Lilith were struck down in de street, and old Rikez down the road actually **_became_** one of 'em! How do ya think we can be protected in 'ere when that's what we're—"

"BARNES!" the man roared. Sure enough, Beth broke down crying, heaving sobs as the caretaker placed a gentle hand at her shoulder.

"Barnes" moved away from the window, oblivious to the low growl that Link had been emitting at his disregard for his friends' fears.

"Look, Renado…" Barnes sighed. "All I mean to say is that it's risky in 'ere, too! Ain't ya got some place we can 'ide?"

"Renado" seemed to hesitate in his answer, silent for a moment. "There is… a cellar," he replied.

"WHAT?!" Barnes roared. "Ya mean ya 'ad a place dis 'ole time? Where's the entrance, man?"

Renado must have pointed to the birdlike statue in the center of the room. "There's a lever on the statue that reveals the sliding—"

Barnes hightailed himself over to the statue, groping and searching for the device. Finally, he grabbed a hold of the bird totem's beak, and was just about to pull down on it as the other child spoke up.

"I would not do that, if I were you," she said flatly.

"Oh ya? And why's that?" Barnes asked, stopping despite himself.

"When Father instructed me to secure the cellar, I saw insects like the beasts outside underneath." She motioned her arms like the scuttling of the bugs to emphasize her point. Barnes drew his hand back like he had touched hot coals, staring at the lever for a moment before finally casting his hands into the air in exasperation.

"So we're just supposed to wait 'ere? Fat lotta good that'll do us!"

Beth continued to cry amongst the others, heaving sobs into her hands.

"Don't cry, Beth! It'll be okay!" Colin said, reaching out in an attempt to comfort her. She shrugged him off, turning and crying harder. "Link's coming to save us!"

At this, Beth sobs turned to hiccups, the room awaiting an explanation.

"I just know he is. I can feel it!" Colin continued with a voice full of hope. Talo scoffed, but no one said any more.

Link was touched by the faith Colin had in him. They had no way of knowing that he would come, yet here Colin was, trying to keep everyone's spirits up… so to speak.

"Aw, these kids knew that you'd come and save them! What a hero!" Midna praised him, though it was hard to tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

"How sad to be right in front of someone and not be noticed at all," she mused, looking at her nails. "After all, being chosen by the Goddesses is the only thing that keeps you from turning into a spirit, or worse, into a shadow beast like that Rikez guy, when you enter twilight. And no one even knows what you have done… you may be doomed to toil in obscurity forever…" she trailed off, sighing in mock sadness.

Link growled at her barbed comments. Pointing it out to him didn't help anything.

"Now you're the type to worry about _everything_, I know… but don't fret over Princess Zelda! She can handle herself, and she chose this state of affairs, after all…" Midna grinned knowingly. "Anyway, what's with having to pull the nose of a statue to get into a cellar? Not very subtle… but at least we have a place to start looking."

A warbling cry came from the nearby home, the beast call prompting Midna to quiet down slightly as they both looked cautiously about. "Come on, my lonely little hero," she giggled. "Let's go restore that Light Spirit of yours."

Link nodded, heading towards the spring to retrieve the Light Vessel. The sooner they restored the province, the better.

* * *

"Well? What do you think?" Midna asked, annoyed at the rate the hero was sniffing the bugs out. Just as they had before, they'd gone to the spring and gained the means to take back the stolen light, which meant chasing around a bunch of the creatures who stole that light. Creatures who just so happened to take the forms of bugs, and who were apt at crawling into buildings and homes, spreading through graveyards and rooftops, even going up part of the mountain.

But at long last, Link had tracked the remaining bugs into a single hut.

Link looked up to her and gave her a flat look before proceeding to dig under a few loose boards at the foundation. After successfully getting through, the odd pair crept inside. Link sniffed at the air and searched for the bugs even as she cautiously surveyed their surroundings. There was an awful lot of what seemed to be black powder around, hasty skulls and crossbones drawn on crates and barrels.

Midna was jerked about as Link jumped at the insects, though he was unsuccessful in his attempts. The bugs scuttled and flew about, dashing to hide in the corner fireplace and huddling inside.

She rolled her eyes in impatience. "Seriously?"

Link snorted in response, jumping up for the torch that hung on the wall and plucking it from its sconce in one swift movement. Deliberately, he slowly made his way over to light the kindling in the fireplace, torch in his mouth. _Even as a wolf, the hero still acts like quite the hylian_, Midna grinned to herself. And he was certainly predictable as well.

The wolfen hero brought the torch to the stone fireplace, lighting the sticks and twigs within and instantly stoking a small, smoky fire to life.

_Any second now…_

The fireplace rattled around, the chattering and hisses of the bugs within growing louder. Suddenly, the insects shot out their prison, smoldering and burning. Panicked, the creatures flew about the room, bumping into the various crates and barrels that were stacked on the walls, causing the black powder to spark and—

_Oh, __**no.**_

The powder was set ablaze, quickly spreading to the other barrels and jumping from box to box. The whole building was going up in flames!

"Uh…" Midna stuttered, eyes wide at the sight of the bonfire. "Sorry, but as romantic as this is, I'm not going to stay in here with you. I'm getting out!" Quickly, she leapt off of the hero's back and floated through the way they came in, small explosions erupting as she fled.

She turned to see the entire building ablaze, being shaken about by the explosions within. Her eyes darted about, searching for Link's appearance from any other exit. She wasn't worried for him, not really. All he had to do was come out where they'd gone in.

Another explosion rocked the building, forcing a dusty cannonball of fur and soot out the side, coughing and hacking as it went. Midna breathed a small sigh of relief despite herself, but was on guard once more as the entire house began to collapse, showering the area with sparks and lightless fires from the explosion, one final **BANG** from the rubble ending the fiasco.

Lowering her arms from their protective stance, Midna drifted back over to Link, the battered hero appearing more like a dirty mop than a wolf.

"Well, that's one way to hunt these things," she remarked, looking back to the Tears of Light that now floated amongst the wreckage. "Sure, you had to blow up someone's house to find them, but… that's how these things go, huh?"

Link gave her a sooty glare, his fur matted down and blackened from the explosions inside.

"Aw, cheer up, wolfie," she said, giving him an impish grin. "These are the last Tears we need, after all. Once we gather these up, this place gets restored and back to—"

A chilling howl rang out from below, the call answered by what sounded like dozens more. Midna froze, her eyes meeting Link's briefly as they looked to each other, as if verifying that they both heard it. _Zant couldn't be onto us now, could he?_

A portal appeared over the spring itself, several shadow beasts dropping down from above as reinforcements.

"Better grab them and go, hero!" she urged him, readying herself for the coming battle. Either Zant knew, or he was being cautious and simply giving the spring more protection. The satisfaction of knowing they were getting under his skin was overshadowed by the fact that they were now severely outnumbered.

Link grabbed the final Tear of Light from the rubble, filling the "grape" light-vessel the Light Spirit gave them. Just as before, they were instantly teleported to the waters of the spring… and into the waiting arms of the beasts.

No sooner had they landed were they set upon. Link leapt at the twisted shadow beast closest to them while Midna shot bursts of twilit magic into the fray, trying to gauge how many there were. There must have been nearly twenty of the corrupted creatures atop the buildings, some climbing down into the street to fight while others rained arrows down from their perch, the projectiles splashing down around them.

"Link! We need to get to that Spirit!" she cried, blasting another beast back even as two more barreled towards them. Link growled at the aggressors, making the jump for the throat of one… only to be bashed aside by the other. Midna held on tight as he was flung back with a yelp, gingerly rising again to defend himself.

She grimaced as she prepared and released another bolt of magic, slicing into the beasts before them. Even with the spring's healing properties, Link wasn't going to last much longer with this. An oncoming arrow punctuated this, landing just inches from their position.

A chilling, inhumane roar came from the street, a blackened and lightning fast shape sprinting towards them. The fallen beasts seemed to absorb light around them as they were revived, struggling to their feet as their wounds magically sealed. Midna bared her fangs in anger. Now it just a losing battle.

As if sensing this, the Light Spirit voice drifted from the spring's source. "…Come… my child… bring the Vessel to me…"

Link looked to her, giving her a growl and a bark.

"Yeah, yeah, move already!" she shouted, holding on with one hand as she fired bolts of magic into the crowd with the other. Link dashed forward, the Vessel of Light materializing in his jaws as he neared the spring's mouth. The beasts were only paces behind them, roaring and moaning close behind as they splashed through the shallows.

With a final effort, Link cast the vessel into the mouth of the spring, a bright light shining forth as the Light Spirit regained power. The mass of shadow forms behind them hissed and screeched in place, paralyzed by the sudden light that sprung forth.

And Midna was caught up in it.

She gasped at the pain. The light was scorching; her entire body felt aflame as she was exposed to the pure light of the realm. Thinking quickly, she dove into Link's welcoming shadow, an oasis of darkness in the oppressive light. The pain slowly receded, but she kept her eyes shut tight against the glare. The light grew until it was as if the sun itself had fallen from the heavens and into the spring waters, washing over all as the shadow beasts faded into oblivion, their very essence destroyed.

She opened her eyes again to the realm of Light, Link standing tall once more in the clothes of the hero. The Light Spirit loomed before them in the form of a great bird of prey, its wingspan encompassing the breadth of the spring.

"Hero," it intoned. "My name is Eldin. I am one of the light spirits of Hyrule, and am the guardian of these lands. O great hero chosen by the Goddesses... the dark power you surely seek lies in the sacred grounds of the proud mountain dwellers above," it gestured, raising its beak to the mountains behind them. "But already those grounds have been defiled, draped in shadow and seeded with evil. To obtain that power, you must go to those sacred grounds and cleanse them."

The spirit began to recede once more into the spring.

"Wait!" Link called out. "What you did just then… I want to thank you for saving us," he said. Midna's eyes widened in surprise. _He said_ us, _not_ me.

The spirit turned its head to them once more, its eyes staring into hers. "I removed the darkness from this land, and those touched by it. I could not discriminate against your companion, but it seems she is well."

Link cast a shocked glance down towards her, as if confirming what the spirit said before he looked back to it, a curious look on his face.

"Be warned, hero," the Eldin said, fading away. "Agents of darkness have taken notice of your deeds. The darkness… now hunts you…"

The light from the spring vanished, leaving standing amidst the pool of water as the sun shone brightly upon them.

"Midna, are you—?" he began.

"I'm fine," she scoffed, springing forth from his shadow. "See? Still here."

Link frowned. "When Eldin shone its light on those shadow beasts, I heard you make a sound as if you were hurt. And don't say you didn't," he added when he saw her open her mouth to speak. "Wolf hearing, remember? One of the upsides of being in that form."

Midna was silent for a moment. He'd called her on her bluff, it seemed. No point in hiding it now.

"…All right, fine. Yes, I was affected by whatever the Light Spirit did," she admitted. "Light and shadow can't mix, after all. But really, I'm fine now."

"So…" he continued, "…how bad?"

"Ever take a swim in a fire?" Midna asked bluntly.

Link grimaced. "Ouch! How do you feel fine after that?"

"It was only for a few moments; mostly it was because I had your shadow to hide in."

"You're welcome," he said flatly.

"Ha, ha," she laughed dryly. "You know, you almost sounded worried for a moment there, Mr. Hero."

Link grinned at her. "Well, I would lose a lot of my things if you were gone…"

"Don't push your luck," she growled as a tired laugh escaped him, turning uproarious as it forced him to put his hands on his knees to keep balance. Though she tried to act offended, she found herself smiling as well at the display. Link had been awake for more than a day, and they'd both nearly been killed more than once, yet here he was, laughing like the village idiot after he told a bad joke.

_Which he essentially just did_, she thought, giving a small giggle of her own.

Their laughter died down as Link stumbled on back to the shore. "You know," he said as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "It feels pretty good to just—"

"Link?!"

Midna dove back into Link's shadow, hiding from sight. The children were all at the doors of the sanctuary, eyes wide with delight at the sight of him.

"Link!" they cried in unison, rushing forward to embrace him in a tight circle.

"Hahaha! See, Beth?! I told you Link would save us!"

"Really? That was you, Talo?"

The two men, Renado and Barnes, stepped forward to the bubbly group, Renado extending his hand in greeting. "You are the one from Ordon whom these children spoke of?"

Link nodded. "That's me. I'm Link of Ordon."

"We are well met. I am Renado, shaman of this village. And this…" Barnes puffed up his chest with pride at his impending introduction ."…is my daughter, Luda," he said, gesturing to the girl opposite of Barnes.

The other man instantly deflated, throwing his hands into the air as he walked off. "Oh, sure. No need to mention me name. I'll just be over 'ere, minding me business."

Renado sighed, rolling his eyes at the man's display. "That was Barnes, our resident 'bomb-maker' and inventor."

The young blonde, Colin, Midna gathered from the group, spoke animatedly.

"Link! It was so scary! The beasts took us through here, but the villagers here were able to save us!" he said, beaming at Link and Renado.

"Ya, yer welcome for that!" Barnes called out off in the distance.

Renado ignored the man. "At first, I couldn't believe they had come from so distant a place as the Ordona Province…"

Colin nodded. "Yeah, I… We don't remember much. All of a sudden everyone was captured, and until now… it's been like…"

"…a nightmare," the youngest child said.

"Yeah! It was like a terrible dream and we couldn't wake up," Colin affirmed, frowning at the thought of their ordeals.

"Mmm…" Renado hummed. "Nightmares are everywhere these days, it seems. This village has certainly seen its share of recent hardships… The dark beasts attacked, but even worse was the sudden and inexplicable change in the mountain-dwelling goron tribe."

He frowned, shaking his head in frustration. "They had long been our friends, but suddenly treated us as foes. Even now they refuse to permit us entry into their mines. It strains the limits of belief… To think that such a gentle and proud tribe could change so suddenly… It makes me wonder if something in those mines is the cause of this change..."

Well, the man wasn't the leader and shaman of the village for nothing, it seemed.

Renado looked back to Link. "In any case, you must take these children and flee this village before more nightmares descend. I, of course, cannot leave my village in such a time. There is no telling what may happen to us here if I do… but it is my job to try to coax the gorons back from their recent change of heart.

The children quieted down, confusion crossing their faces.

"But… I don't wanna leave all these people just to save ourselves!" Talo said.

"Come on, Link! Can't you do something?" Beth asked, all of the children looking to him for aid.

"Isn't there… some way to make up with the gorons?" the smallest child mused, eyes focused in thought. "You'd think someone could go to the mines and do something…"

Link's posture faltered for a moment, falling forwards for a split second before returning to his standing position, trying to hide his fatigued state. A move that didn't escape the shaman's notice.

"Come, children. Link needs a moment for himself," he said, ushering the children away. "Link, do come inside. You must be exhausted from your travels."

Link shook his head vigorously even as he yawned. "No, really, I'll be all right…"

"WHAT IN BLAZES 'APPENED TO ME BOMBS?!" Barnes voice cried out from further into the village.

"Just for a few moments," he said as he darted inside.

_Smooth move, Mr. Hero_, Midna smirked to herself. She wanted the Fused Shadow as soon as possible, but odds are Link wouldn't survive climbing a volcano if he was falling asleep halfway up.

She'd waited this long. She could wait a bit longer.


End file.
